


Angels May Fall

by 6_Binx_6



Series: Tales of Devil May Cry [2]
Category: Devil May Cry, DmC: Devil May Cry
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Amnesiac OC, Angel & Demon Sex, Angel/Demon Relationship, Angels, Angels vs. Demons, Blood and Violence, Books, Choices, Comfort Food, Complete, Confusion, Costumes, Demons, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Family, Fighting, Fluff, Guns, Halloween, Healing, Hoodies, Jealousy, Masturbation, Motorcycles, Near Death, Order of the Sword, Porn, Power gain, Pregnancy, Rememebring, Self Imposed Mute, Sewing, Sex, Sexual Tension, Showers, Slow Burn, Smut, Thanksgiving, Torture, alternate endings, energy transfer, high emotions, time shifts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-25
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2019-01-23 05:07:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 45
Words: 58,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12499440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/6_Binx_6/pseuds/6_Binx_6
Summary: Why...?Why can't I just die...?This same question has been repeating in my mind for years. How many years now, I didn't know. I've been in this dark place, this hellhole, for so long I can't remember what the sun feels like on my skin. Or how it feels to be clean. I can't remember my favorite food, or if I ever had one. I don't even know my own name anymore.He calls me 'Angel' sometimes, which I'm sure isn't my name. I hate it. I hate it so much when he calls me that. Mostly he calls me by the numbers he seared into my arm when I first came here, 613.That number is how he labels his experiments, at least I think that's how anyway. He takes a lot of notes, scribbling away madly and talking to himself when there's a 'fascinating reaction.' He stutters sometimes. Especially when he is angry. When that happens, I know there's more pain to come until he gets what he wants.**This work also contains artwork by Limboolian, a big fan of the Tales of Devil May Cry series.**





	1. Found

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, here I go again with another idea that just wouldn't leave well enough alone. I attempted to make this a one shot, but damn if it didn't want to be that. Soo...
> 
> Hopefully, this little product of replaying one of my favorite games, doesn't disappoint. There is some canon divergence, but honestly I'm just going with the flow on this. I hope it's at least a fun read.
> 
> Tags will be updated as I post. And as always, I do not own any part of Devil May Cry. Just my OC and the plot. Any similarities are purely coincidence.
> 
> Comments are always welcome, even if this sucks. If it does, tell me so I can make it better. 
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> *Artwork by Limboolian, a fan of the Tales of Devil May Cry series.* 

Why...?

Why can't I just die...?  
  
This same question has been repeating in my mind for years. How many years now, I didn't know. I've been in this dark place, this hellhole, for so long I can't remember what the sun feels like on my skin. Or how it feels to be clean. I can't remember my favorite food, or if I ever had one. I don't even know my own name anymore.  
  
He calls me 'Angel' sometimes, which I'm sure isn't my name. I hate it. I hate it so much when he calls me that. Mostly he calls me by the numbers he seared into my arm when I first came here, 613.  
  
That number is how he labels his experiments, at least I think that's how anyway. He takes a lot of notes, scribbling away madly and talking to himself when there's a 'fascinating reaction.' He stutters sometimes. Especially when he is angry. When that happens, I know there's more pain to come until he gets what he wants.  
  
Ripping, tearing, breaking...  
  
There's never an end and my only relief is when I scream. I've moved past tears. They don't help and he doesn't care. I can't move anymore, I haven't been able to for some time. He put a metal harness on me that keeps my wings from moving, binding them at painful angles. It's laced with demonic power so there's no use in trying to break it. It hurts. It hurts worse than the metallic straps across my body and limbs do.  
  
I don't know if I can fly, but I think I remember the feel of the wind on my face and the strength in my wings. He likes to pull the feathers out, slowly and painfully. Sometimes he cuts the feathers and other times he cuts into them and I bleed. I don't always know what he does to my wings, all I know is that it hurts more than anything else he does. I also know he enjoys it. A lot.  
  
The lens on his face reflects my face sometimes. I know my hair is long and a soft, silvery white. I can't remember if it's always been that color. My eyes are blue and sometimes they glow. They only do that when I feel myself breaking inside. Which happens a lot. The demonic harness that binds my wings flares with power during those times. It burns my skin and my wings, to the point where smoke rises from my skin and blood drips on the floor. The floor is filthy.  
  
He said I helped him create a sacred passage, an 'Ascension Ceremony'. Giving demonic power to humans and yet giving them a holy appearance. He says it's because of me that they look like that. Not all though. His demon appearance is more bug like. Which is fitting.  
  
He's a coward. An angry coward. An angry, cowardly bug.  
  
I hate him so much.  
  
He tells me that his work will rule this world. I think he'll drown it in blood. I've been told my opinion doesn't matter. Which is why I don't talk anymore. I used to sing to myself when I was alone. I stopped that a while ago, it seemed pointless.  
  
Then he came. Different than the one who always hurt me, whose name was Angus. This new person was strong, brave, desperate... Alone. I never saw him or heard him. But I felt his Devil Trigger, felt his deep seeded pain, anger and...love. It made me tremble, though I don't know why.  
  
There were others too that came. Another man and a woman, who were just as strong and fierce. I never saw them though, only felt them.  
  
Silence came shortly after and the coward never came back. No one came back for a long time. It was finally quiet, no demonic roars or screeching. No pain. I waited for death like I had waited before, only now there wasn't anything to bring death to me. Just time and its ever-ticking clock.  
  
The hallucinations weren't too terrible. Mostly relived trauma, but with no physical pain. It was...scary and yet, felt normal. Maybe my mind finally broke like I feared it would. Maybe it had always been that way.  
  
In the darkness, it was hard to remember such things.  
  
Then she came. With others. I'd never seen others before, or at least I thought I hadn't. They were building and tearing things down. They worked long hard hours and I listened to them for weeks. I didn't know if they knew I was there, I doubted it actually. I thought about calling out to them, but who knew what these others were like?  
  
Maybe they were like he had been.  
  
Maybe they were like the devil who's power shook the walls and made me tremble.  
  
So, I stayed silent.  
  
When she found me, her face was sad while the others were horrified. I only know this because I had felt the same about myself. It was easy to recognize. They took me down from where I had been strapped to the wall. It took a while, pain searing my skin as they removed the metallic straps. Once I was down, I passed out from the pain.  
  
Which again, was normal for me.  
  
When I woke, I was laying down on a soft cushy pillow thing. A bed, I think it was. The woman, whose name was Kyrie, stayed with me. She fed me. Bandaged me. Helped me learn to walk again.  
  
It didn't take long surprisingly, while I had forgotten somethings my body remembered just fine. I even began to recognize somethings. Like words in books.  
  
I found that I loved books. So many things were written down, it surprised me anyone took the time the write them all down.  
  
"Hey there," she said to me one morning, "I know you want to remove that horrible thing binding your wings. I want that too; I want you to be able to live freely and comfortably. I've looked through all of the Orders texts and Agnus's notes that were left, but no one has any clues how to remove it."  
  
Her eyes were sad as she spoke and I nodded slightly in understanding. I wanted it off, so very badly. Nothing we tried worked. And every time we tried, the demonic power etched in the metal would flare and the pain would come like always. After several tries and failures, I accepted that I would always have it on.  
  
Agnus was dead and his secrets with him.  
  
"But," Kyrie said, a soft smile playing on her lips. "I have a friend, a close friend who I think can help you. You're different, just like he is and so are the people that he works with. Would you like to see if they can help?"  
  
Different? Did she mean like me?  
  
I frowned, confused and not understanding. Motioning with my hands, I pointed to my chest where the center of the harness connected.  
  
"He's half demon, so are some of his friends. They are good people and I trust them."  
  
Half-demon? How could anyone be half demon? In my experience, it was either all or nothing. There was no such thing. It also seemed like she had more to say, but stopped herself. Those gentle brown eyes so kind, but sad.  
  
When I frowned again, she smiled gently and patted my knee with a warm hand.  
  
"I know. But please believe me when I say that I trust them."  
  
Maybe she did, but how could I? I was in a world I remembered very little about. I still wasn't talking either. Not because I couldn't I just...didn't think anyone really cared if I did or not. Besides, Angus always told me my opinions about things didn't matter. As much as I hated him, he did seem right about that.  
  
Maybe they could help me.  
  
Maybe I could carve a place out for myself in this world. I knew staying with Kyrie wasn't a good idea. People were scared of me. Kyrie said it was because of the previous demon attacks. But I wasn't a demon.  
  
At least I didn't think I was.  
  
I knew I wasn't human though. Humans don't have wings.  
  
After thinking it over, I slowly nodded my head. I'd go meet her close friend, Nero, she said his name was. And his friends, Dante, Vergil, Lady and Trish. She gave a brief description of each and offered to accompany me to a place called Devil May Cry in a city not far away. I nodded, I didn't know where anything was. Best to have her with me.  
  
Maybe I trusted her. Maybe it was because she was kind and gentle. She settled my heart and made me feel welcome. Even though I didn't talk. Even though I was a strange person with wings bound in a metal harness laced with demonic power.  
  
Made me wonder what kind of friends these people were.

 


	2. Traveling

We left out early in the morning, taking a car to our destination. I sat in the back because it was the only part of the car that didn't make me feel overly trapped. The small enclosed space made me nervous and I tried my best to ignore it. It was actually a good thing my wings weren't very large and they were bound so closely to my body.

The road was empty for the most part and I watched out the window as we passed buildings that slowly gave way to trees. The leaves had changed color from their normal bright green to deep oranges, reds, and browns. It was beautiful and though the air was chilly outside, I wanted to run through those trees and get lost in them.

Kyrie had given me clothes when she found me, simple dresses that I didn't like. She looked wonderful in dresses, while I felt that I looked ridiculous. She had tried to assure me that I looked pretty, but she didn't press it when she took me shopping and I found that jeans were more comfortable. I had decided to wear jeans and a nice oversized sweater, a 'hoodie' as the man at the store told me. It was big, warm and soft. I found that I loved it and decided when I had the means, I'd pick up more of them in all different colors. This one was grey.

I found that the hoodie was the most comfortable because it didn't feel constricting. It was also the only article of clothing that I could wear without having to modify for my wings. Kyrie had shown me how to sew and adjust clothes, but it was still a pain.

It hadn't escaped my notice that Kyrie had chosen to wear a beautifully embroidered blue dress with gold flowers. With her soft features and kind brown eyes, it was rather striking. Feeling a little bad that I wasn't into dresses and Kyrie was obviously trying to dress up; I wore a nice red button shirt that was form fitting but was surprisingly comfortable. It was strange that it was cut so low in the chest area, but not so low that you could see my harness. Though, I worried it could still be seen by the impression it left under the shirt. Which was another reason for the hoodie.

Kyrie had taken to braiding my hair on a daily basis. It was soothing and she taught me how to do it myself. She had told me that if her friends allowed it, I'd be staying with them for a while. She asked me my thoughts and I had nodded. I knew I couldn't stay in the Castle Town of Fortuna for much longer. People were whispering in the hallways about how long it would be before I snapped and started killing people.

I've never killed anyone before. Why would they think I would do that?

It pained me deep down that people disliked me so. It seemed that Agnus had been right when he said humans were ignorant. But they all weren't like that. Kyrie wasn't like that at all. Would her friends be like her? Or would they be like every other human and look at me with fear?

I felt nervous and in an attempt to calm myself, I pulled my hood up over my head. Kyrie glanced at me in the mirror, her eyes taking in my subtle movements.

"It's okay. I think you'll find that you have more in common with them than you think." Her smile was soft and I gave a small nod before looking out the window again.

* * *

Limbo City appeared to be just what the name implied, a place in between. The city was sad looking in a beautiful kind of way. Buildings were run down, lamp posts were damaged, and there were holes in the road. Every once in a while, there'd be a flower in a window or a patch of perfect grass. It might have been a rough city, but there were spots of hope littered throughout.

We passed a small coffee shop with the windows boarded up and a very interesting building with the words 'Love Planet' etched in neon that was currently turned off. I didn't know what they sold there, but from the looks of it, it seemed like it was popular as it had the most amount of care taken of it.

Kyrie turned down a street that looked vacant of any living soul. We stopped aways down, in front of a three-story building with the sign 'Devil May Cry' barely legible. It looked like something or someone had hit it, breaking the neon. The front doors were different colors of peeling paint and there were boards on the windows. Some of the bricks making up the building were broken or just plain missing.

Looking at the building curiously, I tried to picture the friends Kyrie had spoken of. Honestly, I had a hard time believing that they would live in such a place. From her descriptions, they seemed like they would be more at home somewhere else. Somewhere more...pleasant.

Kyrie turned off the car and smiled at me in the mirror, "We're here. Now don't worry, they may seem a bit abrasive, but they are good people."

I stared at her for a moment. Abrasive? What did that mean?

I fiddled with the string on my hood as Kyrie opened her door and got out of the car. After a moment I followed, maybe this wasn't such a good idea. The air smelled almost foul and something was rotting somewhere. I wrinkled my nose in disproval as Kyrie made her way to my side. She chuckled as she motioned towards the door.

"It's better inside." She said reassuringly.

I hoped so.

I kept my hood up and stuffed my hands in the pocket in the front of my hoodie, as I followed her up the few steps to the door. She knocked a few times, but no one answered. I stared at the door, something was coming. I could feel it.

She frowned for a moment, "He said someone would be here—."

Her words cut off as the right door suddenly opened, she jumped, clearly startled. I blinked as a tall, very toned man with a bare chest and low hugging black leather pants opened the door. His nakedness didn't surprise me, it was his hair and his eyes. They were the same blue as my own and his hair was whiter than mine. Granted it stuck up at odd angles and he clearly was sleep deprived as he ran his hands through the mess on his head.

He looked like me.

But...

He didn't have wings...

"Well, hey there Doll." He said, a half smile on his face as he looked at Kyrie. She smiled warmly at him.

"Dante, it's good to see you again."

"Sorry about that, I fell asleep waiting up for you. Long night last night." He yawned, exposing pearly white teeth. I found myself taking in his features, studying his face. He was handsome, but there was something off about him. It was like the air hummed around him, vibrating almost. I was sure if I reached my hand out, I'd be able to touch it. It seemed so real.

"Sorry for waking you, may we come in?" Kyrie motioned to the inside with her hand and Dante blinked slowly.

"We?" He looked behind her, where I was standing and we ended up staring at each other for a moment.

I knew I should say something, but again like every other time I tried to talk, it just seemed so pointless. I nodded to Dante as he blinked and raised a curious brow at me.

"Uh, she doesn't talk much does she?"

"No, I'm afraid not. She hasn't spoken since we found her in the underground lab the Order had."

Dante looked at me surprised and I nodded again. I wrinkled my nose involuntarily again as a breeze brought the rotting smell to my nose once more. In the next moment, Dante was chuckling as he kicked the door open wider with his boot, waving for us to come in.

"Well she may not talk, but she's got a cute face. Come on in Angel."


	3. Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! ^_^

Something bad happened.

Something very, very bad.

I heard Kyrie scream and something breaking, like wood. There was a lot of loud popping, but I couldn't tell what it was. There was the sound of metal ringing in the air and searing pain across my chest. The demonic power of the harness that bound my wings flared and I distantly felt my skin burning.

It wasn't until something long and sharp sliced into my left shoulder and my right leg, that I came back to myself. Hazily, I blinked staring at two men who had me pinned halfway up the wall with swords.

One I recognized as Dante, the other looked like him, but different. His hair was expertly combed and he was completely clothed in a blue coat with silver stitching that matched him perfectly.

"Don't hurt her!" Kyrie half screamed in panic.

"What the hell?! She attacked first!" Dante yelled back, his blade sinking deeper. I bit my trembling lip to keep from screaming in pain. I couldn't stop the painful noise that escaped though.

I managed to focus my eyes, spotting Kyrie standing in the middle of the room. She had a gash on her head that was bleeding. Her eyes filled with worry as she watched me.

Oh no...

I opened my mouth to try and apologize, to say I was sorry. But the words wouldn't come out, instead, I made a half pained noise. The other man, who also had white hair and blue eyes, narrowed his eyes at me as he spoke.

"Why did she attack in the first place?" His voice was cold and calculated, not like Dante's at all.

"I don't know! She's never been violent before. Not in the six months since we found her. Please, please let her go." Kyrie tried to sound calm, but her voice was shaking. I felt terrible, I'd hurt her. I didn't know how, but I definitely hurt her.

Blood dripped down the length of their swords and splattered a little on the hardwood floor. I closed my eyes, feeling guilty and horrible. It probably would be best if they did kill me. Maybe the people had been right, maybe I was a killer.

I didn't want to be. That wasn't who I was.

At least I didn't feel that I was.

When I opened my eyes again, it was the man dressed in blue who met them with his cold ones. He watched me for a moment before he looked at Dante, who huffed.

In one quick motion, they pulled their swords out and I fell the few feet to the floor. I didn't collapse like I thought I would, instead I landed swiftly on my feet. Surprising even myself with the smoothness of my actions. I blinked as I touched my hands to my shoulder and leg. My hoodie was completely soaked in blood, as were my jeans. The holes could be repaired, but I didn't know if the blood would come out.

I sighed as I frowned, fingering the hole in my hoodie sadly. The man in blue continued to watch me, his long slim sword was still drawn but at his side. Dante rested the blade of his sword on his shoulder as he tilted his head, watching me as well.

Kyrie was suddenly at my side, her hands warm and comforting as she hugged me and cupped my face to look at me.

"Are you alright? Come on we need to check those wounds." Her voice was so concerned and I frowned harder as I touched the cut on her head, showing her she was bleeding too.

She winced and then touched it herself, she caught my look and smiled softly. "Hey, it's okay. Don't worry, I'm fine. It's just a little scratch."

When I shook my head, the man in blue let out a snort.

"So she's a mute and she's smarter than you."

I snapped my head to him as I glared, he tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword as he glared right back. Kyrie took my hand gently and started pulling me towards a couch in the corner. Dante scolded him and they began whispering back and forth, rather aggressively.

"Don't worry about Vergil, he's always like that. Come, let's take a look." She said softly as she guided me to the couch. The pain had already stopped and so had the bleeding, but I knew she'd still want to look. I was more worried about her than me. I'd taken a lot of pain over the years, what they had done was pretty mild.

Kyrie had me sit down and she took a place next to me. She motioned with her hands to take my hoodie off and I sighed softly. I knew my wounds were already healed, but my voice just wouldn't come out as I opened my mouth. She gave me a soft smile and tugged on my sweater, indicating I should take it off. I sighed and shut my mouth.

With a little maneuvering, I pulled the hoodie over my head and folded it up nicely in my lap. Kyrie gasped slightly as I did and I blinked at her for a moment before looking down.

Where the harness laid against my skin, it burned holes in my shirt where the demonic power had flared up. It was barely hanging on as being called a shirt. I frowned and sighed as I heard a low whistle behind me and movement.

"Man, what the hell is that thing?" Dante stood behind me, eyeing my back where I could feel cool air hitting parts of my back and wings. Vergil stood off to the side, but his attention was on my shirt as well. I looked at Kyrie who spoke.

"It's some kind of harness contraption that Angus put on her. There are demonic markings all over it and whenever we try to remove it, it flares burning her skin." Kyrie eyed the hole on my shirt from where Dante's sword had pinned me, and sighed, relieved.

"She always heals quickly though. I've looked through everything the Order had on demonic relics and weaponry, but I couldn't find any mention of this thing he put on her."

"What are those?" Vergil said, eyeing the soft white feathers peaking out from parts of the harness binding my wings close to my body. I turned slightly so he could see them better and Dante whistled again.

"Are those...?" 

"Wings, yes. From what little I was able to learn about her through Agnus's scribblings, he did experiments on her and used her essence to create the Ascension Ceremony. I'm not sure how though, we aren't even sure how she came to be here." Kyrie explained softly as she continued to look over my exposed skin through my shirt.

"Demon?" Dante said like it explained everything. I wrinkled my brow, I was not a demon. I'd seen demons that Agnus had created, felt them, I wasn't anything like them.

"It would explain why she suddenly attacked, we should kill her now before she becomes a problem," Vergil smirked, rather coldly and I glared at him showing teeth.

Dante laughed at seeing my reaction, "Demon or not, she's got spunk bro. I don't think Kyrie would come all the way here to personally deliver a demon for us to kill though."

"More's the pity." Vergil sneered and I clenched my hands as I held my hoodie. This guy was just evil, but Dante said "bro". I was sure that was short for brother. Still, I didn't like him one bit.

Kyrie frowned at Vergil and nodded to Dante, "You're right. I was wondering if she could stay here for a while. Maybe you can find a way to get this thing off of her. Things back home have been a little tense since the Order collapsed and the previous demon attacks. I fear it's not safe for her there anymore."

"We aren't running a charity here." Vergil snorted.

Dante nodded, "I mean, I don't mind helping but we've got our own problems to deal with. There's been a spike in demon attacks lately, it's been hell just keeping up with them."

"Please, I know you are all busy but, she won't get in the way. She's really very helpful." I gave Kyrie a soft smile, she was so kind.

"She's a mute," Vergil spoke up again, his tone clipped.

I huffed and suddenly stood, this was ridiculous. If they were so against it, there was no use in forcing them. Begging definitely wasn't going to help. Kyrie let out a startled noise as Vergil had his sword suddenly inches from my face.

"Come on bro," Dante said, trying to soothe him. I glared at Vergil and huffed again, blowing a piece of my hair out of my eyes.

My shirt was rubbing roughly where it had gotten burned. Since we were leaving there was no point in looking nice anymore and besides, the shirt was already ruined. I brought my hands up and quickly started unbuttoning the shirt, my eyes never leaving Vergil's. If he wanted to kill me, fine. He could do so, but I wasn't wearing this shirt anymore that had once been so pretty.

"What are you—?" Dante said as I removed my shirt, exposing the harness. The ugly black metal wound tightly across my chest, under my breasts, and around my back. Deep etchings engraved the metal in a foreign script. From how it felt, larger pieces of metal held my wings tight to my body. It was painful even when the power didn't flare. The previous burns were all gone, including the wound from the sword in my shoulder. The only mark that remained, that ever remained, was the 613 on my arm. Both men stared a little wide-eyed as Kyrie stood to cover my front with my hoodie.

Honestly, I wasn't embarrassed by my nakedness, but she had told me it wasn't polite to be naked in front of strangers. As I found out when we went clothes shopping.

Just before I went to grab my sweater from her to slip it on, the front door swung open drawing our attention to another man, who looked about my age with the same white hair and blue eyes. There were two others with him, a tall blonde in a very tight fitting black catsuit and another with short black hair dressed in a white striped suit. All three of them were armed.

I tilted my head as they all paused to look at our little group, these must have been the others Kyrie had mentioned. I felt more than saw Kyrie tense beside me and the man in the doorway, Nero I assumed, stared wide-eyed at her for a moment before his eyes snapped to me.

Something inside me trembled and I found myself shaking. It started in my hands and worked its way up my arms until my whole body trembled. I knew this feeling.

It was him.

The one who I felt in the lab that day.

Searing pain burned along my skin, causing it to blister and bleed. There was a roaring in my ears and I screamed.


	4. Rain

My stomach lurched and I covered my mouth with a shaking hand. The energy around him was so full of anger and self-loathing, it almost overshadowed the deep love I barely felt directed at Kyrie. The mix of emotions was so toxic I staggered away from all of them.

"What's wrong?" Kyrie tried to offer comfort, placing a hand on my shoulder. But even her warmth was too much in that moment. I had to get away from them, once I felt his energy, all of their energy started to magnify. Something stung my eyes, blurring my vision. Tears?

But I hadn't shed a single tear in years.

I turned and without much thought, ran away from the small crowd. There were too many emotions, too much pain and it was suffocating. With my hoodie still in my hands, I bolted towards the back of the room where a door leading to a small kitchen. There was another door in the very back and I slammed into it with such force it splintered into several pieces. The cold air hit my skin like knives as I made it outside.

Behind me, there was a lot of yelling and movement. I didn't hear what they were saying and ran as fast as I could down the back alleyway, getting as far away from them as possible.

I had never felt like this, this overwhelming feeling of emotions and energy. It hurt something deep inside my chest and with every heavy beat of my heart, I wanted to scream through the pain till I couldn't breathe anymore.

Death would have been kinder.

* * *

 

I ran for a long time.

I stopped only for a moment to slip my blood-soaked hoodie on and then was running again.

I ran passed crumbling buildings, old warehouses, and forgotten rusted cars. I ran until I reached the city limits and kept running well beyond it until I could no longer hear the sounds of the city.

My breathing was ragged, but it wasn't painful. All too soon it was back to normal and I found myself alone on the side of the road. There was not a car in sight and the sounds of the outdoors was soothing. The suffocating feeling had faded and I found myself puzzled as to why I had run in the first place.

I didn't know those people.

I wasn't scared of them.

They weren't scared of me. Which was a relief in some ways and curious in others.

Where had that sudden surge of energy come from? From the look on their faces, it hadn't been intentional. I felt it though, like a heavyweight. It felt like...something familiar. Something forgotten, something important I had forgotten. But no matter how hard I tried I just didn't know what the something was.

Deciding to not worry too much about what I had forgotten, I sighed. Kyrie was probably extremely worried right now. I didn't want to go back though, it was obvious they didn't want me there. Maybe I could just wait for Kyrie to drive back by and we could go back to the Castle Town of Fortuna. People didn't like me there, but maybe I could stay for a while longer until I could figure out where to go.

A loud boom happened overhead and I looked up as dark clouds had covered the sky. The first drops of rain began to fall, freezing yet beautiful. It wasn't long before those few drops became a massive down poor. I closed my eyes against the falling rain as it hit my face. The water helped to wash away the dried tears that had covered my cheeks.

I ran my hands over my face to get their remnants off. When I looked down, I started as I realized my hands were covered with watered down blood from the rain. I had cried blood? Had I always cried blood?

I frowned.

I just couldn't remember.

"Man, do you run fast. Where do you think you're running off to anyways?"

Startled, I looked over to see Dante standing on the side of the road a ways away from me. He was still bare-chested, but now he wore a red leather coat and boots. His sword was strapped to his back and I blinked slowly at him. He was looking relaxed and calm. I could still feel the energy humming around him, but it wasn't like with the other one, Nero.

I tilted my head a little as we looked at each other. Dante was soaked just like I was and yet, neither one of us were shivering. Something seemed wrong about that, we should have. Distantly I remember Kyrie telling me Dante was half demon, like his brother Vergil and Nero.

"Not sure where you're going either huh? Well, the way I see it you've got two choices. You can stand there and freeze in the rain or you can come back with me. It's up to you, Angel."

The bad thing happened again.

Distant noises, metal singing through the air and the loud popping was back. The harness flared once more, burning my skin. The pain was distant and my awareness was faded. I could tell I was moving but I couldn't see. Everything was muffled in a deep red haze.

The next thing I knew, I was on the ground with my arms pinned behind me. Dante was on top of my back, panting slightly as something hard pressed against the back of my head. My abdomen ached and my skin felt like it was peeling away from itself. The rain hadn't slowed as it fell in heavy drops down upon us.

"Damn, what's your problem!? Why do you keep doing that? I'm trying my best not to shoot ya, but you're making it a pain in the ass." Dante hissed in my ear and I turned my head so I could just barely see him out of the corner of my eye.

I shook my head, opening my mouth to try and talk. It felt like there was something stuck in my throat and a wave of numbness drifted over my mind. Talking was pointless. But I needed to talk.

He'd called me Angel.

I hated that name.

Dante watched me as I opened my mouth and shut it several times. Not a sound came out and the harder I tried, the more I felt my hands clench from the strain. After several long minutes, I finally managed to get one word out.

"A...a-an...a-ang—el."

Dante stilled as I managed to speak. My voice sounded strange to me like I'd never heard it before. It was light, airy and so soft I feared he couldn't hear me.

"A—ang...el," I said again, frowning as I shook my head.

Finally, Dante seemed to understand and nodded, "Don't like being called that?"

I nodded.

"Is that why you attacked me back at the shop?"

I nodded again. Dante pulled the hard thing pressed against my head away and let me up. Sitting up, I realized he had had a gun to my head. I tilted my head as he slipped it back inside his red leather coat and looked down at me.

Suddenly, a soft smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he extended a gloved hand, the tips of his fingers exposed at their ends.

"Alright, I won't call you that anymore. But we'll need to call you something other than 'Hey You' if you're staying with us."

I blinked.

Stay? Did he mean I could stay with them? Would they help me?

Dante chuckled, "Unless you'd rather freeze in this rain."

Slowly, I reached out my hand to take his. His hand was warm despite the freezing rain and he tugged me to my feet in one swift motion.


	5. Names

We walked back to Devil May Cry in the rain. I had no idea how he managed to catch up with me so fast, but it must have been by demonic means. Maybe I was a demon...which was unfortunate. Demons were soulless creatures who liked to kill and torture. Though Dante didn't seem that way. And regardless of how strange I was acting, I didn't think I was one either.  
  
Walking in silence, I kept looking around. The downpour had soaked everything for miles and it seemed to wash away some of the muck that stuck to the city. The fresh rain smelled heavenly and I closed my eyes as I walked, enjoying the feel of the rain and its soft smell.  
  
I heard Dante stop walking so I stopped as well, turning to look at him. His eyes watched me for a moment before he smiled, "How about Kitty?"  
  
I blinked, Kitty?  
  
"Yeah, you kind of look like a Kitty. Especially when you go all—." He made a weird zipping motion with his hands really fast while making a whooshing sound. When I continued to stare at him blankly, he dropped his hand.  
  
"Seriously? You don't know?" Dante blinked, surprise showing on his face as I tilted my head slightly.  
  
"Wow, that's fucking crazy!" He laughed, a deep masculine sound that sounded warm. It startled me a bit, it made the air around him vibrate and I got the distinct feeling I was forgetting something again.  
  
"Okay, okay. I've got it! We'll call you Kit."  
  
I wrinkled my nose, that name sounded like a child's name. I was not a child. I shook my head and Dante hummed thoughtfully as he walked slowly around me. I turned to watch him, the rain was still falling but it wasn't as heavy.  
  
"How about Jessica? Monique? Rachael?"  
  
I shook my head, those names sounded ridiculous. I started walking again towards the shop as Dante trailed behind me. As we continued to walk, he said a thousand names if not more. Some with explanations I didn't quite understand.  
  
"How about Phoebe? There was this sexy dancer at Love Planet named Phoebe, gave excellent lap dances. Or Cami? Cami was the name of a pretty little thing that worked the ice cream shop. She was a bit shy like you."  
  
On and on and on. None of those names sounded like anything I'd prefer to go by. Honestly, I was fine being referred to as 613. It may have been generic and boring compared to the other names Dante said, but at least it didn't sound horrible.  
  
I stopped suddenly, causing Dante to bump into me and stop mid-sentence about some woman named Bonnie.  
  
"She was— whoa! Why'd you stop?"  
  
I rolled up my sleeve, frowning as I realized my hoodie was not just covered in blood, but also had black burn marks around my shoulders from the harness. I sighed, this was the only one I had and it was already ruined. I pulled my sleeve up and exposed my forearm to him with the three numbers that had been burned into my skin. I still didn't know why they stayed when every other mark faded, but it was always there.  
  
"613?" He said dubiously, "That's seriously your name?"  
  
I shrugged and nodded as I pulled my sleeve back down. Dante scratched his chin with his partially gloved hand as he looked me over.  
  
"613, sounds kinda..."  
  
I raised a brow at him and he grinned, shrugging. "Alright, if that's what you want to go by, fine. But I'm going to come up with a name for you that's not so..." He smirked cheekily and I rolled my eyes, walking again.  
  
I had no idea why he was so determined to give me a name. Or why it mattered. As long as he didn't call me Angel again.  
  
About an hour or so, the rain stopped and the sun was starting to peek out from behind the clouds. It was warm and felt good after the freezing rain. We arrived shortly after, the tall blonde woman from before leaning against the side of the building next to the steps.  
  
"Hey, Trish! I thought you would have left by now." Dante said, wiggling his eyebrows. I had no idea why. Didn't she live here too? And what was with his face?  
  
Trish stepped away from the building, her tall figure slinking towards us and I found myself studying her movements. She looked sleek and dangerous. Her blonde hair shifting slightly as she walked, the skin-tight black catsuit she wore looked constricting. I wouldn't have worn anything like that.  
  
"Mm, well I wanted to see if you'd actually bring her back or not." Her voice was just as smooth as her movements. Her pale eyes drifted over my face and I could feel the air hum around her. She was definitely not human. I frowned and stepped back from her and slightly closer to Dante. Her energy was dark, but it was dulled out like Dante's.  
  
She smiled softly as she nodded like I'd done something interesting. "My name is Trish. I just wanted to introduce myself."  
  
I hesitated for a moment before nodding back. Dante chuckled and clamped a large hand on my shoulder, making the harness dig into my collarbone.  
  
"She doesn't have a name yet, but she said we could call her 613." He snickered as Trish raised her eyebrows in surprise.  
  
"She talked to you? I thought she was mute."  
  
Dante chuckled, "She's not mute, she just doesn't talk much."  
  
"Hmm. Well, that's interesting." She turned her attention to Dante, "Anyway, now that you found her I'm going home." Trish turned her attention back to me.  
  
"Try not to get too overwhelmed staying here. If you get tired of it, you can always come and stay with Lady and me." With that, she walked away, doing that smooth motion thing again with her whole body. I'd never seen anyone move like that. Maybe because she wasn't human?  
  
I didn't move like that. Or at least, I didn't think I did.  
  
Dante laughed and shook his head, "Yeah, she's all sex appeal in a sleek demon package. I have no idea how the hell her and Lady got together. Maybe you can find out, be my girl on the inside." He winked and walked into the shop, leaving me on the steps.  
  
What did he mean? They were 'together'? And what was 'sex appeal'? And what was with that 'girl on the inside' stuff? I frowned, thinking over his words before following him inside.


	6. Sadness

The main room was empty except for just Dante and myself. It was mostly quiet but there was some hammering and banging going on in the next room over, where the kitchen was. Curious, I walked over to the door that led to it while Dante sat down at a large desk piled with various things. It was exceeding cluttered and I wondered how he got any work done.  
  
Kyrie's desk was always spotless no matter what she was working on.  
  
Slowly, I pushed the door in to peek inside. The one who looked like Dante, but in a blue coat... Vergil was attempting to piece the back door that led to the alleyway back together. His back was towards me, which allowed me to look at the rest of the damage I'd caused.  
  
The table had been flipped over and shoved against the side wall, one chair was on its side next to it, while another was sticking out of the wall at an odd angle. Pots, pans, and dishes littered the floor and it looked like a few of the cabinets had been slightly dislodged from the wall.  
  
Frowning, I made the mistake of stepping forward, making the door squeak. Without warning, Vergil threw the hammer that he had been working with and it stuck in the wall next to my head. The sound was loud and the wood splintered inside the wall.  
  
We glared at each other, I did not like him and it was obvious the feeling was mutual. His mouth tugged into a wicked sneer as he walked over to where I was standing behind the door. I didn't move as he opened the door the rest of the way. He was tall like Dante and I found myself looking up at his nasty face with one of my own.  
  
"Hey bro, how's the work going?" Dante said casually.  
  
Vergil pushed past me, causing me to step back to avoid him. The energy surrounding him was electric and I didn't want to touch it.  
  
"It's a lost cause." He said, biting each word as he moved to the staircase and disappearing upstairs behind another door. I looked at Dante who whistled lowly.  
  
"Man, he really doesn't like you." He grinned cheekily, "don't feel bad, he doesn't like me much either. But that's family right?"  
  
I stared blankly, family? I didn't have a family. Not that I remembered if I had one or not. It never occurred to me that I might have one. Though, I supposed even demons had a family?  
  
While I was thinking over the idea of family, there was some distant yelling coming from upstairs behind the closed door. I turned towards it as I heard Kyrie and Nero talk. Well, Nero was shouting and Kyrie sounded sad. Frowning, I started to walk towards the stairs.  
  
"I wouldn't worry too much. Those two have a lot to work through. He won't hurt her if that's what you're worried about." Dante said from behind a magazine he had open in front of his face. The cover had a woman in a bikini with the words 'This Years Top Swim Suits' scrawled in bright lettering.  
  
I frowned harder, he might not hurt her, but I didn't like him yelling at her. Kyrie was a kind person, she didn't deserve that. Just as I started to make my way towards the stairs again the door opened at the top, Kyrie emerging with tears in her eyes.  
  
"Nero..." She whispered, she sounded so hurt as the loud bang of a door slamming echoed behind her. I found myself instantly at her side as she shut the door softly behind her. I thought I should hug her, but I felt unsure. The pain surrounding her was heavy and I wasn't sure if she'd want me to. Humans were strange when it came to touching.  
  
"Oh..." She said, startled as I placed my hands on her shoulders. She turned to face me. Kyrie forced herself to smile and I carefully wiped a lone tear away that had slipped down her cheek. She had put a bandage on her head from where she had gotten cut, and I touched it softly.  
  
"It was just a scratch. Don't worry." She gave me another smile, this one more light but not her usual. "Dante and Vergil agreed to let you stay. I've already put your bag in your room. I have to go now, but I'll check in later okay?"  
  
I nodded and she hugged me, hard. I blinked as the energy around her seemed to seep into me. She was upset, that was obvious. But the emotional pain was deeply laced with love. I frowned, I'd never felt anything like this from her before. It didn't feel as intense as it had when I'd seen Nero, or even from the others. But it was...strange. I wanted to make her feel better. To take the pain away.  
  
Something kept nagging at me in the back of my mind.  
  
However, it was gone in the next moment when she stepped away from me and walked down the stairs.  
  
I followed after her as she gave Dante a curt nod, "Goodbye Dante. Take care of her."  
  
"No problem Doll. We'll be fine." Dante said, looking over at her from his magazine. They exchanged a look that I didn't understand and a moment later Kyrie was gone out the door. The distant sound of the car starting and driving off had me frowning.  
  
Dante cleared his throat and tossed the magazine down on the desk as he stood, stretching his arms over his head. "Well, since everyone else has decided to be a bunch of asses, I suppose it's up to me to show you around."  
  
I watched him for a moment before he walked to the center of the room, extending his arms out to motion to the room around us, "Welcome to Devil May Cry. There's only a handful of rules..."  
  
Rules? I blinked.


	7. Rules

The rules I found, were as simple as they were strange.  
  
1\. Don't eat anything in the fridge that didn't have your name on it.  
2\. Don't touch the beer – whatever that was.  
3\. You can use the jukebox, but it was currently broken.  
4\. The pool table was off limits unless Dante was present.  
5\. Don't touch Vergil's things, this included his books.  
6\. Don't go into anyone's room without permission. (Though Dante said I could go into his room if I felt lonely. Though he had a weird look on his face when he said it that made me confused.)  
7\. Don't ask Nero about Kyrie - which Dante said wasn't a problem since I didn't talk.  
8\. Do not touch any weapon that was lying around.  
9\. Don't interrupt business. Dante explained that they were devil hunters and there was a secret code people had to use when they called. Sometimes clients would come to the shop, but it was rare.  
  
And finally,  
  
10\. I was in charge of keeping the place clean and tidy. Provided I followed all the previous rules.  
  
Dante showed me around the second floor above the shop. His room was the first on the left, Nero's was across from his on the right and Vergil's was at the end of the hall next to Dante's.  
  
"Alright, here we are." He said as we approached the door across from Vergil's. The door was a faded green color and the knob squeaked loudly as he turned it.  
  
The room inside was dusty and looked like it hadn't been cleaned in ages. My backpack that had a few changes of clothes and two books Kyrie had given me, sat on a crusty looking couch in the center of the room.  
  
I looked at Dante as he cleared his throat, "So uh, yeah... It's been a while since this room was opened, but it's still a room. We'll work on gettin' a bed and stuff..." He ran his fingers through his hair, an embarrassed look on his face.  
  
His energy hummed a little and I found myself slip away from him and head into the room. It wasn't like the room I had back at Kyrie's home, but it was still better than the lab I'd been in for years. I liked the fact that it was so empty. I didn't really understand why people tended to surround themselves with things.  
  
Sitting on the couch, I grabbed my bag and started to rummage through it. I needed to change my clothes and see about repairing my blood-soaked jeans and hoodie. Dante watched me for a moment, blinking a few times before smirking.  
  
"You're kinda..." I looked at him as he spoke and he chuckled, "Nevermind. Anyway, I'm gonna go catch some—"  
  
There was a distant ringing and Dante sighed, "Right, we'll see you later. If you get hungry you can eat some pizza in the fridge. It's the box that says, Dante." He made a motion with his hands in the shape of a flat box before the ringing phone pulled him away, closing the door behind him.  
  
I listened to him walk back down the hall, a few moments later he yelled up the stairs, "Yo! We got a job!" I heard Nero and Vergil leave their rooms, their energy felt distant and I focused on it as they made their way downstairs to meet Dante. There was some distant talking and then the sound of a door slamming.  
  
Silence filled the building and I went back to my bag. It was odd, I could feel their energy through the walls it seemed. I frowned suddenly, the nagging feeling that I was forgetting something came back and I shook my head. This place... This place was strange, yet it felt kind of homey with its broken and battered appearance. Much like the people who lived here...  
  
Well, perhaps that wasn't correct. Dante seemed nice, but the others...

* * *

I took my time scrubbing my clothes as best I could. It took hours. I managed to get all of the blood out and repair the damage from the swords and the burns from my harness. The jeans looked better, but the hoodie would never be the same. I left the jeans and hoodie draped on the back of the couch in my room to dry.  
  
I changed into another pair of jeans and a shirt. It was green like trees and was looser than the red shirt had been. I decided to busy myself with cleaning. Since it was one of the rules.  
  
I started with the kitchen. I had damaged a lot of their belongings and I wanted to repair them. I was able to fix most of them with some things I found in boxes in a large room below the main floor. Kyrie had explained to me that some buildings had spaces under them called 'basements' when I came to live with her. I came across it by accident when I moved the table from the wall, revealing another door I hadn't seen before.  
  
The only thing I couldn't manage to fix was the back door. I did manage to find a large piece of wood in the basement that fit over it, so I hammered it in place. Perhaps there was someone who could fix it better in the city? Maybe Dante would know.  
  
By the time I had righted the kitchen to what I thought it looked like before I destroyed it, I wandered back to the main room. I wasn't hungry, though I knew I should probably eat. The problem was I wasn't sure what 'pizza' was, which was printed on the box Dante had mentioned with his name scribbled on it. Since I had gone so long without food before, I found that I really didn't need to eat that often.  
  
Something Kyrie worried about constantly.  
  
I stopped in the middle of the room, facing the front door. Something, something dark was coming. The sounds of the city had diminished to nothing and the air started to feel colder. I looked around at the walls and then back to the door. This energy...I...  
  
I remembered it, as clearly as I remembered being ripped apart by it several times over. The demonic power on my harness flared, heating my skin painfully as the energy increased on the other side of the door. I felt my body lock into place, unable to move.  
  
The last time, the very last time I was in the same room with one, I had been strapped to a wall and unable to get away. Now that I wasn't, I still found that I couldn't move. My body refused to understand and I whimpered as the sound of its lance drug across the wood of the front door, carving into it as it went.  
  
I watched as it came through the door slowly like a ghost. It shifted its wings briefly, exposing its horribly twisted face. It reeked of death and its demonic energy hit with full force, causing me to grab my chest with my hands. The harness flared brighter and I could hear my skin sizzling as the pain brought a louder noise from my lips.  
  
It stilled a moment at my voice, a second later a high screech echoed through the building. More came through the walls until I was surrounded on all sides. Their lances made completely from light energy aimed at my chest.  
  
These demons were once beautiful, or so I had read in Angus's notes. But their deceptions had caused their fall from 'grace'.  
  
These were The Fallen...


	8. Fallen

There were times, in the darkness...many in fact, that I thought if I was free to move I could somehow stop the horrendous pain that was to come. Years of conditioning had me holding as still as possible, regardless of not being tied down...  
  
Screaming...  
  
The Fallen didn't hesitate to slash and pierce my body with their light energy lances. I could feel them cut through bone and organs. Blood spilled in heavy splats on the floor and I felt blood in my mouth for the first time in a long time. They screeched as they ripped my flesh. All the while, I didn't move from the spot on the floor where I had collapsed. This was just like before when Agnus was there taking notes. Only he wasn't here to stop them.  
  
The harness burned so hot and deeply that my clothes caught fire, bringing an agonizing scream from me. Every time I tried to move away. The harness dug deeper into my skin, it was reaching a point where I couldn't breathe anymore. I found myself gasping for air that wasn't coming.  
  
Maybe I would die...  
  
Finally...  
  
Kyrie would be sad though. Nero would be angry with Kyrie. Dante would have let his friend down. Who know how Trish, Lady, and Vergil would feel. There'd be too much pain and they had all suffered enough.  
  
I did not want to die. Though in moments like this I wished for it.  
  
One of The Fallen's lances pierced the center of my chest where the harness connected. The metal resisted for a moment and then caved, allowing the lance to push into my heart. The demonic power lace in the metal harness followed the lance all the way down into my hammering heart. Unbearable, excruciating pain brought a high pitched scream from me causing the building to shake. The demonic energy clung to my insides, drawing more energy from the lances sunk into my body.  
  
Something snapped in my mind, some dark and twisted that craved blood.  
  
Demon blood...  
  
I felt the demonic energy rip through my body like it was nothing. A moment later, everything drowned out in a red haze and I yanked the harness off of my body. Tossing it on the floor, The Fallen screeched in anger as I drew their power into me. They realized too late that I had complete and utter control of them.  
  
It felt good... Evil yes, to be drawing their life energy... But good.  
  
My wings were severely damaged, unable to do much more than shift them, they hung down my back limply. The Fallen tried to pull their lances out of my body, but I found myself laughing as I gripped one lance and pulled it. The Fallen demon on the other end screeched as I drew them in closer. Its wings flapped in an attempt to get away but the moment I saw my opening, I launched my clawed hands around its middle and sank my razor like teeth into its soft, scaly flesh.  
  
I didn't have claws...  
  
My teeth weren't sharp...  
  
Not that I remembered, it was hard to remember such things in the darkness.  
  
The other Fallen left their lances in an order to regroup, but it didn't matter. I leaped towards them one at a time. One I caught by a wing, slamming it down into the pool table. The wood carved and The Fallen erupted in a massive wave of black, sticky demon blood.  
  
Another I caught trying to phase through the wall. I wrapped my whole body around them as I pulled them back and onto Dante's desk. I took a hit with its hard armor-like wing, knocking me to the ground. I was up on moments, ripping it apart.  
  
I feasted on demon flesh like I'd been starving for years.  
  
Which was true.  
  
I'd been starving for so long. But the energy from their lances absorbed into my body, just as their lifeless demon bodies filled me.  
  
I lost track of time. There were pieces of The Fallen littered throughout the front room. The pool table was destroyed and Dante's desk was a bigger mess than it had been before. Demon blood, black and sticky, covered just about everything and I stood in the middle of the room staring at the floor.  
  
I was exactly what the people in the Castle Town of Fortuna thought I was...  
  
I was a killer...  
  
I was a demon...  
  
I felt myself lay down on the blood-soaked floor, my naked body sticking as I curled into myself. My damaged wings now free, fluttered briefly now and then. I felt weak as I looked at my hands, there were no claws there now. I felt tears well up for the second time that day, their red color falling down my face to drop onto the floor.  
  
I surely couldn't stay here. They would demand explanations, which I had none. Kyrie would be sad and I didn't know what I could say to her either. The only good thing that came out of this was the harness was off.  
  
But now... I didn't know if that was a good thing or not.


	9. Perceptions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to those that have kept reading and left kudos. And a big thanks to Aratoamin for your awesome comments! This chapter is just for you, I hope you enjoy it. ^_^

"Look, all I'm saying is you should learn to appreciate the subtle flavor of a thin crust, pepperoni pizza," Dante said matter of factly, taking a rather large bite out of a slice of fresh pizza he'd snatched out of the box Nero was holding.  
  
"If it wasn't for being half demon you would be an overweight slob." Vergil snorted, scowling at him.  
  
Nero rolled his eyes and put the lid back down on the box. He shifted his arm in its sling, trying to keep his demon arm hidden as they walked. It was a good thing it was night time, people tended to notice it less when it was dark, but there was still a need to be cautious.  
  
The three were coming back from an urgent job on the other side of the city in the warehouse district. There had been a massive battle trying to take down the demonic swarm that had arisen for no apparent reason. It was troubling the severe spike of demon activity that had come up in the last six months, it was almost as if they were searching for something. The attacks were not always random, each time they countered a horde it seemed that they were not interested in them. Which was, unusual. It was a problem Dante mulled over and no doubt his brother as well.  
  
They had decided to go out and recoup a bit before heading back to the shop. Kyrie had assured Dante that the girl would be fine by herself and Nero seemed to need the distraction, if only for the moment.  
  
The debate started on the way back. It was Dante's idea to hit up the local strip club, Love Planet; while Vergil had wanted to check out a new occult bookstore that had just opened up. Two hours of arguing and bickering later, they were walking back to Devil May Cry with two pizzas and a small container of Alfredo pasta that Virgil was holding.  
  
Nero let out an exaggerated sigh, "Look, old man, no one is going to agree with you that pizza, any pizza, is great enough to eat every damn day."  
  
"Whatever you say, kid," Dante said around his mouthful.  
  
Vergil sighed heavily as they turned the corner, he paused just as Nero stopped. There was a heaviness in the air that was electrified. Dante stopped too, finishing his slice of pizza and looking around as he chewed.  
  
"Another demon attack?" Nero said, eyeing the empty street. There were no demons in sight, but this time of night could hide anything.  
  
Vergil's face was blank as his eyes narrowed slightly, "It's coming from the shop."  
  
Dante frowned as he swallowed harshly, "The shop...?"  
  
All three men looked at each other if it was coming from the shop then...  
  
"The girl," Vergil said simply.  
  
A moment later they were running, the pizza boxes and container of pasta tossed on the ground as they sprinted to the shop.

* * *

I had managed to crawl my way up the stairs, leaving a bloody trail as I went. I found that though my body craved demon flesh and blood, I was unable to keep it down. Every time my body rejected the contents of my stomach, I had a fit of shakes.  
  
It took a lot to keep moving.  
  
By the time I made it to my room and into the farthest corner of it I could find, I heard the front door open.

* * *

"Holy shit..." Dante whistled lowly as Nero looked over the room. Vergil glanced at the desk and then the pool table. Walking over to it, he bent down to pick up a lonely sharp silvered feather coated in demon blood.  
  
"Demons. Looks like The Fallen...several of them." Vergil turned, his eyes piercing as he surveyed the room.  
  
"Ah damnit, look at the pool table!" Dante said in mock horror, in an attempt to lighten the mood. Something he really had to try for.  
  
"There, up the stairs," Nero said, pointing to the clear blood trail up the stairs.  
  
Dante gritted his teeth slightly as they made their way up the stairs and down the hall to the girl's room, 613.  
  
Nero was trying to keep the look on his face blank, but it was obvious from the stench that someone or something had vomited in the hallway. Upon reaching the door, Vergil stood silently as Dante reach over to turn the bloodied knob with his gloved hand. The demonic energy was dissipating, and he had no idea what they were going to be facing on the other side of the door.

* * *

Faintly I heard the door creak and I tensed. I'd been having hallucinations for the last few minutes of Angus standing over me and taking notes.  
  
My skin felt raw and I felt my wings bend slightly as one pair of footsteps approached. They stopped right behind me and I was unable to bring myself to turn and look at who it was. I thought for a moment I felt the dark energy of Vergil, but it seemed my senses were gone for the moment. Two other pairs of boots came closer and I tensed again.  
  
I was sure they would kill me. I was a demon.  
  
There was no other explanation for what had happened. Though, in my heart, it didn't feel right.  
  
Suddenly I was surrounded by a long blue coat, with silver stitching. Hard hands tucked the cloth around my bloody naked form and the next moment lean, strong arms lifted me up and I found myself staring wide-eyed at Nero's surprised face and Dante's shocked one.  
  
"Bro...?" Dante said curiously as Nero blinked, clearly unsure what to say since Vergil had me in his arms.  
  
I...did not know what to do. Why were they looking at me like that? And why did Vergil wrap his coat around me? It was going to get it bloodied.  
  
Vergil shifted his arms slightly, in order to allow for my wings to settle more comfortably. It made the musky scent of dusty books fill my nose and I felt my eyes drop slightly the tension easing.  
  
"I'm not cleaning up that mess." He said in a clipped tone as he made his way past Nero and Dante. He opened the door smoothly with one of his hands, pressing me harder against him for a moment before walking me into his room and shutting the door with a solid click.


	10. Mess

"What the hell...?" Nero said quietly, "Since when does he take an interest in anyone?" He said, looking at Dante.  
  
Dante was staring at Vergil's shut door, half expecting it to open again to shove the girl out of his room. Moments passed and only silence filled the air. Dante shrugged and gave Nero look.  
  
"I don't think it's so much as 'interest' as it is 'avoidance'." A rough sigh escaping him, "What a mess, I don't want to clean this up either." Dante gave Nero a sly grin and Nero snorted as he walked out of the girl's room.  
  
"No way old man, you took responsibility for her, you clean the mess." A moment later the door to his room slammed shut and loud rock music started to play.  
  
Dante sighed again as he looked at the bloodstained hardwood, this was going to suck... A lot. But the bigger question was, how did she survive? And how did her harness come off? Kyrie had explained that nothing they tried worked.  
  
Dante groaned as he toed a sticky piece of demon flesh that had somehow stuck to the girl's floor.  
  
"Yeah... This is really going to suck."

* * *

There was no way in hell he was cleaning up that mess, Vergil had decided. It was easier to deal with a demonic mute than it was to scrub blood out of hardwood. He wasn't one for fixing things as it was, the kitchen had been a lesson learned quickly in that regard.  
  
Vergil set the mute girl down on one of two chairs in his room. It was old, battered and not that comfortable. The chair that he normally sat in, a dark cushioned leather chair; was in considerably better shape and more comfortable to sit in and read. The room was scarcely decorated; being home to his bed, a simple dresser, the two chairs, and several large bookcases packed full of hardbound books. Most of them he'd found on jobs, others he'd found by chance and the rare few he had managed to save after their mother...  
  
Vergil tightened his jaw, it didn't matter.  
  
Once the girl was in the chair Vergil paid her no attention as he went to his dresser. Pulling out an old shirt he hadn't been able to repair properly or get the demon blood stains out of as it sat too long. He fully intended to get her out of his coat and in the shirt, before shoving her back into her closest of a room. After digging for a moment, Vergil turned to the mute he'd left on the chair.  
  
She was no longer sitting in the chair where he'd placed her. Instead, she stood in front of one of his bookshelves, naked. Glancing quickly at the chair he'd put her in, his coat had been expertly folded and placed on the seat. He hadn't had his back turned that long, but what really bothered him is he hadn't heard her move. It was just like before when she disappeared out of the kitchen. She'd moved too fast, almost too fast for him to keep track of.  
  
Looking back at her, he studied her for a moment as she looked over his books. Her white hair was matted with dried blood, showing only part of the silvery white color it truly was. Though she was naked, dried blood was caked heavily over her body and her wings...  
  
It was clear they had been mutilated, the harness hadn't helped them that was for sure. They tried to hold their normal bent bird-like posture, but there wasn't enough strength in them to do so. They hung down almost fully limp down her back, the few feathers that were present looked soft like a dove's. Vergil had an inkling that if they hadn't been through such abuse they would have been full, thick and beautiful. Folded up and ended just below her buttocks.  
  
Her frame was slim, yet lean and she was curved in all the right places which screamed feminine. Vergil furrowed his brow for a moment, not that her naked form was anything he hadn't seen at Love Planet. Dante had a habit of 'unwinding' there quite often and always managed to drag him or Nero along in order to 'socialize' them.  
  
"Hey," Vergil said, the girl turning and looking at him with bright blue eyes. Her face was stoic for the most part, but her eyes gave the impression she was waiting for something.  
  
He tossed the shirt towards her and she caught it easily. She looked at it for a moment and then at him, her eyebrows slightly raised.  
  
"Put it on." He said, irritated. She was not only a mute but dumb as well.  
  
She looked back at the shirt and then down at her naked body, seeming to understand finally. She slipped the shirt over her shoulders and paused a moment as her body tensed. The limp wings shifted uneasily under the shirt for a moment, a brief look of pain in her eyes before she began to button it.  
  
Vergil watched her for a moment as she finished and before he could open his mouth to tell her to get out, she started towards the door. He kept his face neutral as he watched her approach him, surprised slightly that he hadn't needed to say a word. She nodded slightly to him as she passed, opening and closing the door gently behind her.  
  
Vergil stood in his room, his brain working over time. She did not have one wound on her entire body, even though she was obviously a demon which naturally gave her accelerated healing abilities; she should still be suffering from injuries. Especially since she was attacked by The Fallen. She was...curious. And something in his brain was warning him of something, trying to remind him.  
  
Rubbing his brow for a moment, he went to pick up his coat. He stilled as he looked down at it. From what he could tell there was not one blood stain on it. He unfolded it and looked closer inside and out, there was not one spot of blood anywhere on it.  
  
Looking at the floor where there surely should have been at the very least, some flakes of dried blood. However, there was no hint that she had even been in the room.


	11. Guilt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to Jam_K. I hope this chapter opens 613 up to you a bit more. ^_^

It was obvious that I had done more damage than what could easily be repaired. Dante, for the most part, made light of the destruction I'd caused by saying it wasn't my fault. It was though and that was the problem.  
  
The repairs on the pool table, flooring, and jukebox (which I had somehow smashed the front face of and didn't remember) were substantial, leading Dante to ask Lady for something called a 'loan'. From what I gathered from Dante's half of the phone call, she was 'sucking his will to live' with her 'loan shark tendencies'. I didn't really know what that meant, but it didn't sound good.  
  
After the phone call, Dante explained that she would fix the floor but the pool table and jukebox were a no go. There was a lot of whining from him in regards to both objects and I found myself feeling more guilty about the damage.  
  
My guilt aside, no one had asked me what had happened. It was obvious my harness was off, now currently being looked over by Trish, and yet no one had asked me to leave. No one had attempted to kill me for being a demon either. Shouldn't they have? It was a curiosity that I mulled over in the following weeks as a cleaning crew came in and stripped the floors of the stained blood and resurfaced them. The pool table and jukebox had been shoved up against the far wall with a tarp thrown over it.  
  
I decided when I could, I would find a way to fix them.

* * *

"I don't understand how he managed to get this on her," Trish said a pensive look on her face as she studied the harness that was now a twisted heap of metal.  
  
"Moreover," she said, brow furrowed, "I don't know how she got it off."  
  
Dante had sent the girl on a shopping trip for food. Her wings had managed to gain enough strength to bend and lay close enough to her body for her tattered hoodie to cover, though they were still mangled looking. Dante had called a meeting consisting of everyone, which basically meant Nero was locked in his room being moody; Vergil joined only because he 'happened' to be there; Trish because she really loved Demonic relics and Lady, of course, had skipped out to take care of some 'business'.  
  
Dante kicked his feet up on the desk next to the girl's harness, "Well, she's definitely a demon. Maybe she broke it off herself?"  
  
Vergil snorted from the nearby couch, "Not likely."  
  
Trish nodded, "I don't think so either, look here." Flipping the harness over, she pointed to a line of markings. "At first glance, these look like demonic writing, like shorthand if you will. But it's not."  
  
"Uhhh, okay," Dante said as he looked at the scratchy markings and then to Trish. "So what is it then?"  
  
Vergil stood and walked over to the table, looking down with his eyes narrowed before Trish and he exchanged a look. Dante looked between them, lost.  
  
"Uh, hello?" He said and Vergil sighed, irritated.  
  
"It's Angelic script." Trish crossed her arms under her large chest and frowned.  
  
"Soooo, she's actually...you know, an angel?" Dante gave them a blank look and then started laughing like he just been told the best joke. His laughter quickly died when both his brother and friend gave him a sharp look.  
  
"No, come on. There hasn't been an angel on this plane for what? Two millennia? I mean shit, there hasn't been an Angelic Gate seen in forever."  
  
"She didn't come from an Angelic Gate," Vergil said, his voice soft yet cold.  
  
"There were rumors when I served Mundus. About a 'trophy' he stole in the last angelic war that almost wiped out the world. Only his most trusted servants ever saw it." Trish glanced at Vergil, who shot her a glare.  
  
"Bro?"  
  
Vergil tightened his jaw, "It was shortly after I was under his complete control. I only saw it once."  
  
"It? That's a bit harsh bro, even for you." Dante frowned.  
  
"It didn't look like the girl. It looked like a demon. The harness looked familiar when I first saw it on her, but I thought I was mistaken."  
  
"So, she's the trophy of Mundus? How the hell did she get out? Agnus couldn't have pulled her from the Hell Gate, he wasn't that strong."  
  
"No," Trish said, looking at the harness with a far-off look in her eyes. "I think she escaped."  
  
The air pressure shifted and all three stilled, the air felt fuzzy and electrified. Vergil narrowed his eyes and gripped the handle of his sword. The large room was quiet as they listened.  
  
Something dropped in the kitchen and it was like someone started the clock again. All three had moved to the kitchen door, Dante and Vergil on either side as Trish pulled her gun and aimed it at the door. The two brothers nodded to each other, Vergil with his sword in his hands and Dante with his pistols. Trish kicked the door open and all three barreled into the room.

* * *

I jumped, dropping what was left of the bag of groceries on the floor as Trish, Dante and Vergil came at me with fire in their eyes and weapons ready. The paper bag had a small tear in the bottom of it and I hadn't known. I was trying to be quiet and not disturb them so I'd fazed through the board I'd hammered over the back door.  
  
A power I didn't know I'd had until just a few days ago when I accidentally woke up on the roof.  
  
"Wha—?" Dante said as they halted, surprised looks on their faces.  
  
I frowned and looked at the can of pasta sauce that had originally dropped out of the bag. If it weren't for that can, I wouldn't have disturbed them. I looked at Vergil, who was closest to me. The surprise on his face was gone and was replaced by one of curiosity and irritation.  
  
I really didn't understand him.  
  
He was very nice when he gave me his shirt to wear the night I was attacked. But he hadn't talked to me since tossing me the shirt. I sighed, I was currently in process of fixing the tears and the stains in the shirt as a thank you.  
  
I was sure if I was speaking normally, my words of appreciation would have fallen on deaf ears.  
  
I still didn't understand his actions and I looked at Trish, who was smiling at me for some reason.  
  
"Hey, 613... How'd you get in here?" Dante asked, trying to get used to calling me by the numbers on my arm. He was still trying to find a name for me daily. Currently, he had called me by two hundred and thirty-seven different names.  
  
Startled, I looked at Vergil who raised a brow. His sword was still drawn and I was hesitant to do anything as I glanced at it. After a moment, he slowly sheathed it and I relaxed a little. When it was safely put away, I pointed to the board over the back door.  
  
My gesture was met with blank faces from all three and I felt my brow furrow. Opening my mouth, I struggled to get a word out. It took several long minutes of me opening and closing my mouth but finally, I managed to get it out.  
  
"F—. F-faz...ed. Fazed..." I pointed to myself and then the board. My voice still sounded strange and soft. I wondered for a moment if it would ever sound natural.  
  
"You mean you phased through the board?" Trish asked as she blinked a few times. I nodded and then bent down, slowly picking up the groceries I'd dropped. I wouldn't have dropped them if I had been paying attention to their energy.  
  
It was all over the place.  
  
Anger. Irritation. Surprise. Curiosity. And something else... Which I didn't have a name for. All of them were strong emotions. After eating The Fallen that had attacked, my senses came back to me slowly but I started picking up all kinds of emotions. What felt muted before was now clearer.  
  
I just didn't understand any of it.  
  
After I picked up an arm full of groceries I realized everyone was glancing at each other. I frowned and then looked at the food in my hands. Kyrie said that sometimes the best way to relieve tension was for people to eat. She had taught me how to cook and I found that I was decent at it. Maybe food would ease everyone's emotions?  
  
Looking back up, I offered up a small smile and pointed to the food in my arms and then to myself. Trish seemed to understand and grinned.  
  
"You want to cook dinner?"  
  
I nodded.  
  
Vergil snorted and left the kitchen, the door closing with a loud bang. It was the sudden anger that made me jump, not the noise. Dante watched him go and then ran his hands through his hair chuckling.  
  
"If you really want to...613."  
  
I nodded again.  
  
"Okay then."


	12. Pancakes

Food...  
  
Kyrie once told me that food was like love. It gave you a warm, tingling feeling and made you incredibly happy. She said that really good food could make even the hardest and bitter turn soft and kind.  
  
I don't think she was talking about Vergil when she said that.  
  
I think maybe she was talking about Nero.  
  
After Trish and Dante had left the kitchen, I'd set to work making dinner for everyone. Kyrie said when cooking you should always make extra because you never know who would show up. So I cooked for all of them—Lady too.  
  
I'd discovered in the weeks since being here, that everyone had different tastes. Dante loved pizza, which I found out was a large circular piece of bread with sauce, meat, and cheese. Vergil was partial to leaner meats and vegetables. Nero liked sweet things. Trish liked anything that was salty and her companion, Lady, liked anything that was small portioned but high in protein.  
  
So I made everyone their own dish.  
  
I didn't have any idea how to make pizza, so I made pasta instead. A cheese garlic Alfredo with herbs and sun-dried tomatoes, for Dante. For Nero, I made pancakes that were fluffy and light with rich syrup I'd found on sale. I made a seasoned Hamburger with only meat, cheese and fried onions for Trish. For Lady, I made a simple baked fish (frozen because it was far cheaper) with a salad. And for Vergil, I made crispy chicken with stir-fried vegetables.  
  
I set the small kitchen table for all of them with their food. Hopefully, they would eat and relax. The high emotional energy in the building had dulled slightly, but it was still on a razor's edge. Cutting and biting.  
  
Dante poked his head into the kitchen just as I set the last dish down. I'd felt him on the other side of the door now for the last few minutes. I didn't know if he was impatient or if he was simply checking on me. His energy, much like his brother's was still dulled to me for the most part.  
  
"Hey, I just wanted to see if you—holy shit!" Dante looked wide-eyed at the table that I had just finished setting. I tried my best to smile pleasantly like Kyrie had taught me, but it was hard. There was an emotional ball of energy brewing upstairs.  
  
I could feel it throbbing in the air.  
  
The hair on the back of my neck stood up as I felt the ball of energy shift back and forth. It was incredibly hard to tell who it was coming from as I suspected both Nero and Vergil were upstairs.  
  
"Trish!" Dante said, coming fully into the kitchen, "You gotta check this out!" He walked over to the table, his long red coat fluttering around his ankles as Trish slipped in. Her graceful movements were still mesmerizing.  
  
I really wanted to know what made her move like that.  
  
Trish walked over to where Dante was standing. He was rubbing his hands together as he looked over the table. I took the opportunity to slip away from them to hang up an old sheet I had sewn into an apron on a nail.  
  
"Just look at all this! And Jesus, it smells so good!" Dante sat down in front of the hamburger, picking it up to take a bite.  
  
That was Trish's hamburger.  
  
I quickly walked to his side, shaking my head as I snatched the burger away from him and the plate. Dante jumped as I switched the plates around so the pasta was in front of him and the Hamburger was in front of where Trish was standing.  
  
Once I'd finished I nodded and looked at Dante, who was a little wide-eyed. I frowned, maybe the pasta wasn't such a good idea? Maybe I should have made him a burger too? But he liked pizza. Maybe I should have tried to make it?  
  
Trish chuckled and took her seat in front of her burger, "You're right, she does move fast."  
  
"Man you gotta stop doin' that. It's hard to keep track what you're doing. Even for me." Dante shook his head and eyed me as I looked at him curiously.  
  
I hadn't moved very fast at all. Dante chuckled and patted my shoulder, careful not to touch my wings. "Don't fret, 613. Nevermind."  
  
I frowned at his words and looked at the rest of the plates. Maybe I should take Nero and Vergil their food? I didn't want it to get cold.  
  
I didn't like cold food.  
  
Trish took a bite of her burger, chewing and swallowing before she gave me a smile. "This is really good, thank you, sweetie."  
  
Dante snorted, "It's just a burger, anyone can make a burger. This pasta though is amazing!" He grinned and it was such a silly one that I smiled. Trish and Dante began bantering back and forth over whose food was better as they ate.  
  
They continued on a for a few more bites.  
  
I noticed that their energy had shifted a little to something calmer and I felt the tightness in my shoulders relax some. My wings shifted under my hoodie as I finally made up my mind to confront the mass of angry energy upstairs. Whoever it was, needed to calm down before something bad happened.  
  
Picking up Nero and Vergil's plates, Trish spoke up pointing to the one that I left sitting next to her. "Is this one yours?"  
  
I shook my head and pointed to her with one of the plates. Dante sputtered, "What?! She gets two awesome plates of food?!"  
  
"Oh shut up, you don't even like fish—wait. Is this for Lady?" Trish said, surprised. I nodded.  
  
Dante and Trish shared a look I didn't quite understand before Trish gave me a warm smile, "Thank you, I'll make sure she gets it."  
  
I smiled back as I nodded and left the kitchen with the two plates of food. I walked slowly to the stairs and up to the landing. It was getting harder to move towards the brewing dark energy on the other side. The closer I got, however, the more I realized it was Nero who was so angry.  
  
Something in the back of my mind told me that he needed to calm down. That something bad would happen if he didn't. I wanted to calm him, but at the same time, I didn't want to be in the same room. It felt...dangerous.  
  
But I wasn't sure for who.  
  
I phased through the door because I couldn't figure out how to turn the knob and not drop the food. Deciding to save Nero's room for last, I went to Vergil's door. We may not like each other, but I hoped that we could be civil.  
  
Kyrie said that civility is what kept the peace. She also said compassion could move mountains. Though, I was confused about how being compassionate could.  
  
I tapped my foot lightly at the base of the door.  
  
No answer.  
  
I tapped a little harder. Perhaps he didn't hear me.  
  
No answer still.  
  
I wasn't allowed to go into anyone's room without permission and I frowned.  
  
His food was going to get cold.  
  
Maybe he was lost in one of his many books. Perhaps I could phase just my hand through the door? Yes, that sounded like a good idea.  
  
Kneeling down, I phased just my hand with his plate of food through the door, letting it rest on the floor. I hadn't had this power long, but it was very easy to use surprisingly. There was no sound from the other side of the door, so I removed my hand and stood.  
  
It was now time to face the massive swirling anger on the other side of Nero's door.  
  
I bit my lip a little, I felt nervous. Like maybe I shouldn't knock on his door. I looked down and the small stack of pancakes in my hands. Surely these would make him feel better?  
  
I didn't know what had caused him to feel this way. Maybe he was thinking about Kyrie? Kyrie told me that they grew up together and that they loved each other. But I was unclear if it was sibling love or a romantic love. I wasn't sure what romantic love was. And even more, confused by sibling love...if Dante and Vergil were anything to base it off of.  
  
The door to Vergil's room suddenly snapped open and I shivered involuntarily as his sudden irritation hit me with full force. I hadn't been paying attention to his energy as I was thinking. I looked at him wide-eyed as he held the plate of untouched food I just set in his room. His face looked cold, bitter and annoyed.  
  
"Don't put garbage in my room." His voice was nasty as he spoke and I glared. It wasn't garbage. I didn't dig it out of the trash. Why did he have to say that I had?  
  
He glared back at me, his slicked back hair combed to perfection and he wore a simple pale blue shirt with buttons and a high collar. It was the most casual look I'd ever seen him in, but it didn't make him look softer. If he didn't want to eat it, he could starve for all I cared. I was trying to do what Kyrie said and he was just...  
  
Vergil looked at the plate in my hands and then back at me. He snorted, "Figures you'd eat pure sugar. I'm surprised you're not a fat slob yet."  
  
I tensed, feeling my hands grip Nero's plate as my wings shifted jerkily under my hoodie. Now he was just being 'an ass'. A term that Dante used quite often. The look on my face made Vergil sneer and I wanted to wipe that look of his proud face and make him eat it.  
  
So I did.  
  
I took Nero's fluffy warm, buttery and rich syrup covered pancakes.  
  
And shoved them into Vergil's face as hard as I could.


	13. Healing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for reading, leaving kudos and commenting!
> 
> This chapter is dedicated to AutoMattyC, for all your kick ass comments. I hope this answers some questions and raises others. I hope you like it. ^_^

Dante leaned back in his chair, letting the chair tilt on its back two legs. Trish smirked at him as she stood, grabbing Lady's plate and wrapping it with some clear wrap. Lady was going to be gone until the day after tomorrow. It would be perfect as a welcome home present.  
  
"Man, I haven't had food that good since forever. Who knew she could cook? I'll have to add that to her chore list."  
  
Trish rolled her eyes, "I think that's a bit childish coming from you. You've already put her in charge of cleaning and laundry. I've never seen the place so spotless or your desk so organized."  
  
"Hey, she seems to like it and she does do a good job. Besides, I can't let her go out hunting demons after we found bits and pieces of 'em everywhere. I still don't know what she did to them." Dante said thoughtfully.  
  
Trish chuckled, "I think she ate them."  
  
Dante blinked, his mouth hanging open. "No fucking way. Who'd eat a demon? Let alone three?"  
  
"An angel. It's not that far fetched if you think about it. She hardly eats anything at all. Notice how she cooked for all of us, but not herself?" Trish motioned towards the dishes on the table.  
  
Dante scratched his chin for a moment, thinking about it for a moment and then shook his head, "Nah, no way. I'm not buyin' it."  
  
Trish shrugged and opened the fridge to put Lady's plate in and paused, chuckling. "Hey, how much food did you tell her to buy?"  
  
Dante leaned forward and swiped his finger across his plate to get a little bit more of the sauce. Sticking his finger in his mouth to lick it off, he looked at Trish with surprise and shrugged, "I didn't really. All I said was go shopping. Why?"  
  
"You may have to be a bit more specific next time," Trish smirked as she opened the door the rest of the way, showing that the fridge was completely empty except for a few condiments. Dante groaned.  
  
"Ah man, seriously?"  
  
"You should have given her a list or something; she obviously only bought enough food for dinner tonight." Trish set the plate inside and closed the door, a smirk on her face.  
  
"Well, how was I supposed to—." Dante's words were cut off as loud, girly laughter filtered into the kitchen. It had a musical sound to it and was incredibly light and happy.  
  
Trish and Dante looked at each other, their surprise evident. It didn't last long, however, as the next moment, there was a loud bang, causing the building to shake slightly. More laughter came just before Nero started yelling, its tone turning darker and dangerous. The musical quality now gone.  
  
"Dante!" Vergil yelled.

* * *

Vergil stumbled backward taken by surprise as his face was met with soft, warm, sugary pancakes. The girl had used such force that the plate broke instantly, leaving sharp pieces of plate littering the floor and causing the plate in his hand to meet the same fate.  
  
He was going to kill her.  
  
He didn't care if they had agreed to look after her and keep her safe.  
  
Vergil felt pieces of pancake slip off his face and land in a soft plop on the floor of his room. Warm butter and sticky syrup covered his face and dripped down his chin and onto his shirt. Opening his eyes, he glared at the mute.  
  
Sudden bright, happy laughter that was loud and full-bodied met his ears. She was half doubled over and laughing at him. Her eyes squeezed shut as she laughed, a piece of silver-white hair that had fallen out of her braid hanging down to frame her sharp features. Her cheeks were a soft pink and if he wasn't so pissed off, he'd have thought it was beautiful.  
  
But it didn't matter now.  
  
He walked to her, his anger causing him to reach her in a few quick, long strides. He grabbed her by the arm, hard, and still, she laughed. She laughed even harder when she opened her eyes and saw his butter and syrup covered face. Vergil ignored how her laughter seemed to try and calm him. Stirring a feeling long forgotten, for good reason. He felt his jaw tighten as he shoved her as hard as he could into the nearby wall.  
  
He did it a little harder than he meant too and the result was her going through the hallway wall at an angle and into Nero's room. The crash was loud and shook the building. From the falling bits of plaster and dust that rose, Vergil barely made out Nero standing up from his bed, startled. The boy was dressed in his jeans only, exposing his devil arm and bare chest.  
  
For one brief moment he thought maybe he'd killed her by accident, but surely she wasn't as fragile as she looked. Vergil met Nero's pissed off face with one of his own, daring the boy to say something.  
  
Soft, dark laughter slowly started, causing both snap their eyes to the small heap the girl had fallen to on the floor. From what Vergil could tell, she was moving at least. He was a little disappointed that she was still awake. He should have at least knocked her out.  
  
Nero slowly started to back up and Vergil frowned, the air felt heavier and filled with static. The girl continued to laugh louder as she stood, almost mechanically as she faced Nero. Vergil couldn't see her face, but Nero narrowed his eyes and his body tensed as she looked him. The energy that was swirling around her started to make parts of her hair that had worked their way out of her braid, float. Her wings, which was peaking out of the bottom of her hoodie, were jerking under it almost violently.  
  
The danger was clear. Nero made a stupid move to grab his gun the dresser next to him as the girl launched herself at him, her jaws snapping down on his bare shoulder. Blood sprayed the wall with the sudden force of his breaking skin. Nero yelled in anger and pain as he staggered against the wall. He tried to get her off as Vergil yelled for his brother, grabbing his sword, Yamato, from next to his door.  
  
Jumping through the wall, Vergil distantly registered the thundering of shoes up the stairs as he drew his sword and slashed the back of the girl. She grunted, wrapping her body more around Nero as the boy began to scream and beat his fists on her. The hoodie ripped the rest of the way from where the sword had cut, exposing her back.  
  
Wings, still mangled but fuller with soft white feathers extended and whipped outward, hitting Vergil briefly. They beat heavily in quick motions, stirring dust and debris from the damage to the wall. Vergil slashed her again, bright red blood dripping down from the wound before it quickly knit itself back together.  
  
"What the hell?!" Dante yelled as he and Trish burst onto Nero's room through the door just as Nero attempted to push off the wall and slam her to the ground. The girl seemed to be expecting it and her wings fully extended, her hoodie shredding more as they beat harder. The force pushed Nero up against the wall again and Trish pulled her gun.  
  
"613! Let him go!" She yelled, her voice commanding. Her words fell on deaf ears as she tore deeper into Nero's shoulder. More blood sprayed the wall and coated the girl and Nero. There was panic on Nero's face and the energy in the room seemed to twist and drop the temperature.  
  
The girl's hands that were almost barely visible slowly morphed into seemingly demonic claws. White, scaly pearl color armor broke through her skin as claws gripped Nero harder, making him bleed more.  
  
Dante pulled his sword and went to plunge it into her side. It was tricky because she was moving so fast that it was hard to track her movements even though she was latched onto the kid. The sword sank deep and the girl finally let go of Nero's shoulder to turn her face towards Dante.  
  
The armored scales had broken through her skin, covering her neck and face. Her eyes had lost their sharp blue color and had bled to demonic red. The moment they locked eyes she stilled. Her wings partially extended still and though her face was covered in Nero's blood, she still had her legs wrapped around his waist and her claws were still dug into his skin.  
  
"Let him go," Dante said as Vergil slowly moved to flank her from the other side.  
  
The girl tilted her head slightly as she looked at him. She caught Vergil moving and slowly looked at him, her neck turning almost unnaturally. Vergil stopped moving, his hand tightening on his sword. He was going to have to be fast if he wanted to catch her off guard.  
  
"Heal."  
  
The word came out clear as she spoke, voice soft yet strong. Nero shifted painfully, he had lost a lot of blood and was turning pale. Dante narrowed his eyes.  
  
"Heal?" He asked.  
  
"Pain."  
  
Trish frowned, "Let him go, then we'll talk." Her gun was pointed at the girl's head, yet she paid no attention to Trish.  
  
"Anger." The girl said, still looking at Vergil.  
  
Vergil glared, his voice cold. "Get. Off. Of. Him."  
  
The girl shook her head slowly, "Must heal."  
  
Nero looked at Dante, pissed with a touch of fear around his eyes. Dante twisted the sword still lodged in the girl's side, making her wings jerk slightly. Nero groaned, the noise causing the girl to look at him.  
  
"Sorry." The word was so soft, only Nero could fully hear it as he stared at her. In the next moment, she pressed her lips to his. All of them stilled as she kissed him and suddenly the energy in the room shifted becoming lighter.  
  
The girl's pearl colored, scaly armor faintly started to glow as she pressed her lips harder against his. Nero's body was completely tense to the point where he started to shake. His eyes glowing bright blue.  
  
Vergil growled as he aimed the point of his sword to her ribs, aiming to hit her heart. Without warning he shoved the blade into her side, bone cracking to give way to the softer tissue underneath. She screamed then, breaking the kiss. She let go of Nero, letting him collapse to the floor as her wings started to beat frantically. Vergil could almost feel the panicked beat of her heart singing in the metal in his hands.  
  
"Vergil! Stop!" Trish yelled, "Look!"


	14. Memory

I was fighting...  
  
To protect something precious.  
  
Even now, that war was still being fought by every living soul.  
  
Then, when my wings were strong and my voice found a home in the heavens, the battle was already old. I was young then, naive and full of righteousness. My will was strong and I was brave.  
  
I was the purifier of souls. The savior of those who could not or would not, save themselves from their own damnation.  
  
My kind, the others like me, saw hope where others would not. We tried to protect it, to feed it so it would spread.  
  
And yet, the more we tried, the more we failed.  
  
The demons were as numerous as the stars. They were once like us, were us, but they did not see the hope or love in the world. They saw those who were cruel, harsh, evil...had power. Power that could control and bend others to their will. Power that would allow them to consume all that existed and remake the world. They became consumed by their hatred, their disgust, their...envy.  
  
We tried to purify their souls.  
  
We failed them.  
  
The price for purification was too great. Hundreds of thousands were slaughtered in the attempts to remove the negative energy. By then their souls had grown so corrupted there was to be no salvation but unto death.  
  
At first, they fled. Fled through portals created with blood, bone, and ash. These portals, these...gates, allowed them to pool their strength. When they emerged, Hell was born.  
  
The demons were ruled by one who had gained massive power, Mundus. More cruel and vicious than others he was completely unrecognizable. And when the war started again, they raged anew.  
  
Bringing death and destruction to the world.  
  
When the world hovered on the brink of the void, I was captured. I was brought before Mundus, bare for all to see. He folded metal in the ancient way, scrawling the angelic scripts to bind my power and my wings.  
  
I would never fly again.  
  
I was tortured mercilessly. Being the last of the pure, I was hard to kill. But that wasn't a concern for the Demon God, Mundus. He told me I was his trophy, a spoil of war and I would be used as he saw fit.  
  
Time passed.  
  
I...was used. Brutally. Viciously. To the point where I prayed for the heavens to kill me before I became one of them. Before I became a demon. I prayed that this pain and suffering would cease, for those who had hope deserved to reap its fruits.  
  
It was a demon who answered my prayers.  
  
They called him the Legendary Dark Knight, Sparda. He turned against his own, as was whispered in the darkness. He loved a human who bore him sons.  
  
Abominations, they screamed in anger.  
  
The demonic horde rose once again to feast on the lost hopes and fears of the human world. It was Sparda who stopped them.  
  
They could not be beaten, but they could be sealed away to protect humanity. He stole the metal folded in the ancient way to make a sword, Yamato, the cursed blade. For only it could seal the gates of Hell and the demons inside.  
  
It was he who I saw in the darkened shadows of Mundus's castle, escaping with the cursed blade he'd made. He who whispered to me of his sons and beautiful wife. He who had more hope than any demon, that the world would heal once again.  
  
He refused to kill me, though I begged. He was unable to free me, though he tried. In the end, he left me there.  
  
I had no ill will towards him. He would do what we could not.  
  
When the gates closed, the darkness fell and I wept for the loss of sun and the hope that he, Sparda, would save his family.


	15. Cold

Vergil glared at Trish when she told him to stop, "She's killing him and you want me to stop?!" He voice was seething with anger, he should have killed her when he had the chance.  
  
He still might.  
  
"Shut up and look!" Trish was at Nero's side holding him. He'd broken out in a heavy sweat but the animalistic bite on his shoulder started to heal, abnormally fast. Nero's pupils were completely dilated as they continued to glow.  
  
"H-heal." The girl rasped heavily. She'd grown limp with his and Dante's swords embedded into her body. Her wings had stilled, hanging limply down her back.  
  
"What does that mean?" Dante looked a 613 as she turned her head slowly, the armor-like scales had receded back into her skin. Her eyelids were heavy and she drew a shuttering breath, "H-healed...an—ger." Dante frowned not understanding as he looked at Vergil, who scowled.  
  
"We should end this now Dante."  
  
Dante shook his head, "He's still alive."  
  
Vergil and Dante exchanged a silent conversation, Vergil was distinctly aware that the girl's heartbeat was slowing. After a few moments, he growled and slowly removed his sword. The girl took a deep breath and Dante removed his. Blood instantly gushed out of the open wounds and she collapsed on the floor. Dante kneeled down next to her, watching as the wound from his sword started to heal, but Vergil's was bleeding steadily like a normal human wound.  
  
"Nero, are you alright?" Trish brushed his hair out of his eyes. Nero blinked up at her, eyes still dilated, but he'd finally stopped shaking.  
  
"I..."He began and then his eyes darted down to his devil arm. Pain suddenly etched his features and a moment later he was screaming. The blue and red scales slowly lost their color fading to the same bright, pearl white color that the girl's had.  
  
The girl shuddered as she lay on the floor, her hoodie nothing but rags and her wings limp against her body. Vergil's wound was still bleeding heavily, but she smiled softly as she watched Nero. The moment the armored scales turned completely white, they glowed faintly before they shifted and receded back into his skin. Nero finally stopped screaming, his devil arm now gone and leaving a normal human looking arm in its wake.  
  
Trish and Dante stared in awe as Nero's eyes finally stopped glowing, their lids falling closed as he passed out.  
  
"What the hell?" Dante said as he walked over to Trish, exchanging a look.  
  
The girl coughed, blood splattering on the floor as she took a ragged breath. They looked at her as she smiled, eyes slightly wavering, "He...is healed. I'm...glad."  
  
Her voice was soft as she spoke and Vergil found himself frozen to the spot, a sense of dread overcoming him from the back of his brain. For the life of him, he couldn't understand why he was suddenly so concerned. Her dying would probably be best for all of them.  
  
It was Trish and Dante that actually moved first to the girl as she passed out from blood loss. Vergil watched silently as they tried to wake her, to no avail. His face was blank as he watched, but his heart was hammering painfully.  
  
What the hell was this feeling?  
  
It was familiar somehow...

* * *

I felt...  
  
Cold.  
  
Distant.  
  
But I remembered. I remembered me. Or perhaps it was more precise to say, I remembered another version of me. For I was no longer her.  
  
I wasn't young. In fact, I was many years older than I originally thought I was. Which was, strange. I didn't feel that old before, however now I did. I remembered years of torture, which wasn't as surprising as it should have been. After all, Angus had tortured me for years before Kyrie found me.  
  
I remembered the sun and the sky; the wind as it shifted my wings; freedom...  
  
I'd been a prisoner for a long, long time...  
  
I remembered Sparda. I remembered his kindness and I remembered his son's names, Dante and Vergil. He spoke kindly of them, it was clear that he loved them and his wife dearly. It was strange these circumstances that had brought me to their door. Almost like fate.  
  
But why?  
  
I was an angel, though I wasn't sure I could still call myself that. I was a rarity among my kind; one that could take away pain, purify souls—mainly demonic souls. Demons were once Angels, they had lost their way in the darkness and could no longer be part of the divinity that had existed for millennia. I had the ability to pull them back into the light. But there was a cost.  
  
The more darkness they had in their hearts, the more detached from their humanity...the more likely it was that they would die. There had to be a sacrifice in order to purify.  
  
Blood.  
  
Flesh.  
  
If they let go of their hatred, their envy of humans, death could be quick. If not, it was... Well, they ended as The Fallen had in the main room.  
  
In rare cases, if I was successful I could remove the negativity with very little sacrifice. Like Nero...  
  
I...didn't want to hurt him. Or scare him. But something clicked after Vergil threw me through that wall. Nero was so angry, filled with such self-loathing that I lost myself again. It was so hard to see in the darkness. So hard to hold back...  
  
But I found him in the pit of his misery and pulled the energy out, pulling him back from the brink of truly losing himself.  
  
Sadly, I feared my actions would surely kill me. Vergil was definitely trying to end my life. His father's sword was the answer to my end.  
  
I was so cold...  
  
I felt myself drift for a while. Somewhere along the brink of death, I could feel it whispering to me. But like all things, it's secrets remained distant and I found that death was not ready to take me.  
  
Yet.  
  
Blinking slowly, I opened my eyes to a dark room. I was in a bed and it took me a moment to realize I wasn't in my bed in Kyrie's house. The sheets were soft and had a faint familiar masculine smell that was soothing. I shifted slightly, causing pain to slice through my ribs and I gasped.  
  
Something moved next to me and suddenly I was staring into Vergil's cold, blue eyes.


	16. Questions

Why was Vergil laying next to me?  
  
The confusion must have shown on my face because he narrowed his eyes at me.  
  
"Don't think this means anything, I'm just making sure you don't die or kill anyone until I ask you some questions."  
  
His voice was chilly as he spoke, his breath tickling my face. A quick glance told me I was in his room and in his bed. I frowned. This seemed like an invasion of his privacy. He did not seem like the type of person to offer a half-dead woman his bed. Did he bring me to his room again? Why would he do that?  
  
Vergil fell into silence as we continued to stare at each other. It was like he was waiting for something, but then again I was waiting for him to kill me.  
  
As we laid there, gazes locked on each other, I slowly became aware of the fact that I was naked and he wasn't wearing a shirt from what I could tell. My nudity had never been an issue for me before, but now I found myself wrapping my arms across my chest in order to cover my body beneath the sheet and thick blanket. I think this was what Kyrie had meant about 'covering up'.  
  
I felt my wings and body tense as we laid there. While being in his bed was warm comfortable and soothing, it also felt uncomfortable. I felt shy...  
  
Or at least what I assumed was shyness.  
  
Just as I was mentally preparing myself for the physical pain in my ribs of getting up out of his bed and going to my room; he asked me a question.  
  
"What did you do to Nero?" His voice was sharp and I swallowed, I could feel his anger radiating off of him and it made me tremble.  
  
I opened my mouth, expecting to hit the same wall I always did when I wanted to try and speak. However, this time the words came clear and soft. I still didn't recognize my own voice, but it had been a very long time since I'd spoke to anyone at length.  
  
"I took away his pain."  
  
"How?"  
  
I blinked, he didn't want to know about Nero's pain but how I removed it? I frowned. Shouldn't he care that Nero was hurting?  
  
"I removed the negative energy from his soul."  
  
Silence drifted between us again. It was clear his mind was working, but his eyes never wavered from mine. If I wasn't already naked, I would have felt like he was seeing me that way regardless. His cold blue eyes bore into me and for the first time that I could remember, it felt like he was actually seeing me. It was a strange feeling...  
  
"You almost killed him." It wasn't a question and his voice had grown colder.  
  
I shook my head, holding back the wince from the sudden pain in my side. "No. A sacrifice must be made in order to purify. He was close to losing himself, I pulled him back from the brink."  
  
Vergil snorted, "The brink of what?"  
  
"Losing his soul. What makes him, him. His humanity. I didn't mean to scare him."  
  
"No one cares about what your intentions were. Right now I'm not sure if we'll let you live."  
  
He bit the words out, anger making his face crease in hard lines. I was having a hard time keeping myself from fidgeting under his close, harsh gaze. His energy was so intense this close that I started to pant lightly from it.  
  
He was suspicious. Angry. Confused. There were also undertones that were much fainter; jealousy and fear. Once I sensed them I found myself leaning forward until my face was inches from his. He didn't move away like I expected him to, but stayed perfectly still as I stopped a breath away from him.  
  
"Why are you upset?" I whispered, afraid if I spoke it any louder he might just kill me out of spite.  
  
Vergil stilled the anger that was etched on his face leaving and becoming blank. His breathing slowly became heavier as his eyes searched mine. His energy had shifted, becoming lighter but I couldn't tell what it was. It wasn't anger... Or hate. Though those things were still there.  
  
I blinked as the air seemed to shift and I moved to lean back. The moment I did, his hands suddenly reached up and gripped my arms to hold me in place. I tensed, holding back a pained noise from the sudden jolt.  
  
"Why did you kiss Nero?"  
  
Vergil's face gave away nothing as he spoke, his voice barely a whisper like mine had been. But his energy was a mix of so many emotions I could only place half of them. Mostly he felt confused and upset. I frowned, was he upset that I kissed Nero?  
  
"Energy transfer. A negative sacrifice has to happen in order to pull out the negative energy. In order to purify it and give it back, an act of love or compassion is needed. It was easier due to the circumstances to push it through his mouth."  
  
His hands gripped my arms slightly harder and in the next instant he was out of the bed. I held still as I watched him pull a shirt out of his dresser and slip it on. I don't know why, but I was relieved that he had been wearing pants. His motions were jerky and filled with irritation as he buttoned his shirt. I had no idea why he was so upset. Maybe it was because Nero was healed now? Maybe because I'd had to hurt Nero in order to help him?  
  
Without a word, Vergil left the room, slamming the door behind him. The noise made me jump slightly causing a wash of pain through my ribs. Finally able to look under the covers, I noticed my skin was healed. But it still hurt to move. Yamato had cut deep, it would probably take a while for the pain to go away.  
  
I sighed into the quiet room filled with books and his masculine scent. Now that I wasn't so close to him, it felt like I could finally breathe. I was still exhausted, even more so after that encounter. However, I couldn't let myself drift off to sleep yet. I could still feel Vergil outside the door, angry and even more upset than before.  
  
Part of me wanted to comfort him.  
  
But a bigger part told me that would be dangerous right now.  
  
Closing my eyes, I forced myself to ignore the angry energy brewing on the other side of the door.  
  
I'm not sure when it happened, but I fell asleep with the distant sound of Vergil walking down the hallway.


	17. Irritation

Dante was whistling while he cleaned his guns, Ebony and Ivory. After all, a devil hunter was only as good as his weapons. He might be lax in other areas, but he was diligent when it came to his weapons. It also helped to distract from the bigger problem that was beginning to form with the girl.  
  
The sound of the upstairs door slamming had Dante pull his attention away from his guns and to his brother, who had an ugly look on his face. Dante smirked as he made his way down the stairs and towards the kitchen.  
  
"If you keep making that face, it'll get stuck like that." He said casually to his brother. Vergil hesitated mid-step and shot Dante a glare as he grinned back, picking up the barrel of Ebony and pushing a brush through it.  
  
"So," he said, attempting to goat his brother into talking. Vergil had been unusually quiet the last few days as both Nero and the girl had passed out in a deep healing sleep to recover. Whatever the girl had done had definitely made an impact. Nero was the first to wake after three days. He'd been lively and...happy? A switch for the young man. He'd come down and told Dante he was leaving to visit Kyrie. Dante had about fallen over from the shock and Lady had told him not to make an ass out of himself. Which had Nero merely smirking at her before he left.  
  
It was...weird.  
  
They'd all been waiting for the girl to wake, so far she'd been asleep six days and counting. They'd moved her into Dante's room so she could sleep on an actual bed and not the crappy couch in her room. If she stayed any longer, which she might, they'd have to get a bed for her soon.  
  
"What?" Vergil's voice was annoyed and halfway to pissed. Dante smirked and set the barrel down that he'd been cleaning and leaned back in his chair. Kicking his feet up on the desk, he laced his fingers behind his head as he looked at his brother.  
  
"She awake yet?"  
  
Vergil snorted and narrowed his eyes, "Why are you asking me?"  
  
"No reason."  
  
Dante and Vergil watched each other for a moment before Vergil once again resumed his way to the kitchen, just as he reached the door Dante called after him as he picked up the grip of Ivory to examine a scratch.  
  
"You missed a button on your shirt, Pancake Man." His voice was light, almost a laugh. Vergil hesitated once more, his grip on the door handle tightening and turning his knuckles white before he opened it and slammed it closed behind him.  
  
Dante chuckled. He'd never seen his brother act so weird. Especially over a girl. A girl none the less that had enough balls to hit him in the face with a plate of warm, gooey pancakes. Others had died for less. And despite the weird turn of events surrounding their newest live-in, it was amusing as all hell that she'd gotten to him.  
  
If she wanted to leave when she woke up, he'd have to find a way to convince her to stay so he could poke more fun at his brother. Though, if he was honest with himself, seeing him covered in pancake and syrup had been the best thing ever. It was a shame he didn't have a camera handy to take a picture.  
  
It would have made a killer Christmas card.

* * *

Vergil opened the fridge door, glaring at its emptiness with such intensity that it should have burst into flames.  
  
What the hell was with the mute? Why did she ask him if he was upset? He wasn't upset, he was pissed off at Dante's complete lack of caring that they had a demon 'eating' demon living with them. Even more pissed off that Dante had put her in his room, in his bed...to sleep. Like she was still a guest here?!  
  
Angry, he slammed the fridge door hard. Making the condiments inside rattle from the sudden jarring.  
  
This was ridiculous. The fact that she 'helped' Nero was ridiculous. The fact that everyone couldn't see past the mute's pretty eyes and her curvy hips to question her intentions.  
  
Vergil felt himself pause for a moment. The image of her musical laughter after she shoved the plate of pancakes into his face, filling his mind. Even though he'd been angry, she still looked beautiful.  
  
The fact that she supposedly transferred energy through a kiss to Nero was irritating. She even sounded like it was nothing, which it wasn't. Kissing someone was meant to mean something. And what the hell did she mean by, 'due to the circumstances' it was the best way?!  
  
Suddenly annoyed again, he slammed his fist down on the counter top. The bang was loud, and though it hurt his hand slightly, it felt good.  
  
She needed to leave. As soon as she was awake again he'd make her leave and damn everyone and their opinions. She was trouble and something in the back of his mind kept screaming at him that the longer she stayed the worse it would be later.  
  
Vergil tried to calm himself. First, he needed to move her back into Dante's room before he realized she'd been moved. He wasn't sure what had possessed him in the first place to move her limp, naked form to his bed. He had justified it by the idea she needed to be watched. And he did. He'd watched her sleep for a while, almost transfixed in her sleeping face.  
  
Her long, soft white hair framing her face as she unknowingly snuggled into his sheets as though she belonged there. Her wings halfway covered, shifting slightly as she breathed. Just watching her sleep so soundly had caused him to feel calmer, almost tired.  
  
He'd sat in his chair for a while, trying to stay awake. But he found himself dozing soon after. Waking with a start, he had decided that if he was to sleep it would be easier to catch her walking up if he was closer to her. Not wanting to wrinkle his shirt, he'd taken it off and slipped into his bed.  
  
At first, he laid awake, listening to her steady breathing. It was almost hypnotic. And then she'd snuggled up next to him, feeling his warmth. He'd held perfectly still as she snuggled up against him, the only thing separating them being a simple sheet and blanket.  
  
It felt...  
  
Snapping out of his thoughts, Vergil stood straight and looked down at his misbuttoned shirt. Agitated again, he undid them and redid them. His hands jerking as he finished the last button.  
  
No more thinking. He was going to go back to his room and get her back into Dante's. Then he'd figure out how to convince her to leave and if Dante tried to get her to stay...  
  
Well, it wouldn't be the first time they spilled blood over something.  
  
Vergil left the kitchen, letting the door slam behind him as he walked towards the stairs. Dante was still cleaning his guns and he glanced over at him as he passed by. He paused, smirking at Vergil for a moment as he eyed his shirt. Vergil tightened his jaw and glared at him, daring him to mention his shirt again.  
  
When he didn't say anything, he continued up the stairs. Opening the door, he entered the hallway and walked to his room. Just as he was about to reach out and grab the handle the air shifted slightly as the mute passed through the door. She stopped once she sifted through it, ending up a hairs breath away from touching him. His blanket from his bed was wrapped around her naked form, her wings shifting slightly as she looked at him, startled.  
  
Her hair was messy and hung in long soft curls down over his blanket, drawing his attention to the fact that his hand was gripping the doorknob just passed her hip. Vergil tightened his jaw, why the hell did she morph through the door instead of opening it? Why did she look so...  
  
Growling in irritation, he pulled his hand back as she blinked up at him with crystal clear blue eyes.  
  
"Move." He had to practically force the word out, his voice seething with anger. Why was she looking at him like that?  
  
She flinched, pain flowing over her face quickly before disappearing. He'd seen it before too when they were talking. She was healed though, why was she in pain?  
  
Before he could really process why he cared, she slowly stood up on her tippy toes with her hand clutching the blanket around her and pressed her soft lips to his cheek. She hesitated there for a moment, the warmth tickling his skin as his heart started to pound for some unknown reason. He felt frozen to the spot, not sure what to do. In the next instant, she pulled away and slipped past him to her bedroom door.  
  
A second later he heard the door open and shut softly behind her with a click, leaving Vergil alone in the hallway.


	18. Hoodies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to those who commented, left Kudos and have kept reading! 
> 
> Here's a sweet little chapter just for those Dante fans out there.

I stayed away from Vergil as much as possible in the coming weeks. Whenever we were in the same room his energy would spike to the point where I had to leave.

He was angry.

At me.

I made sure to keep my head down and not speak when he was around. Anytime I spoke, he seemed to get more and more irritated. I thought that perhaps if I kissed his cheek as a show of thanks for letting me sleep in his bed, he might calm down. But... That was not the case.

It was confusing... He seemed so upset over the kiss with Nero, even though it was out of necessity. Giving him a simple kiss on the cheek because I'd wanted too should have made him happy.

I received a call from Kyrie sometime later. She was relieved that I could talk now, apparently remembering my past self-seemed to make it easier to talk. Though, I still had issues speaking all the time.

She sounded happy and spoke of how things were progressing in the Castle Town for Fortuna. When I asked her about Nero, as Dante had explained that he'd gone to visit her, she sounded...giddy? Excited? It was hard to distinguish what she was feeling since she wasn't in my presence. Phones were useless in that way. But she said that she and Nero had a long talk. He seemed, better, more like how he used to be. They were spending lots of time together and she was unsure when he'd be coming back.

Kyrie asked about his Devil Bringer. I explained it as best I could since my explanation to Vergil was inadequate. She listened intently as I stumbled through it. She was such a patient person. I didn't want to tell her his demon arm was gone for good, because it wasn't. Purifying a demonic soul allowed better control over their powers. I explained that when he returned I'd need to talk to him. She said she'd pass along the message.

Hanging up the phone, I smiled. I was glad that she and Nero were working through it, she did love him after all. Though, I suspected now it was more than just brotherly love. Which was good too. I wasn't sure how relationships worked, but I'd read in a collection of romance stories that love between two people could be intense.

Maybe that's why Vergil didn't like my explanation of energy transference? Was it because he thought I loved Nero? Because I'd kissed him?

"Hey," Dante said, pulling my attention from my thoughts. I'd been staring at the phone while I was thinking and I blinked at him.

"You want to come with me? I've got a really important mission and I need a girls opinion."

I tilted my head and nodded, "Okay."

Dante grinned as he grabbed his guns and put them in his shoulder holsters. He pulled on his long red coat and handed me his old one. My hoodie had been completely destroyed after I had helped Nero. I didn't have any money to get a new one, so when I had to go outside, Dante let me use his old red coat. It was heavy and dragged a little on the ground because it was too big for me. I missed my hoodie terribly. Dante's coat was nice, but it pulled on my wings and after a while, it grew rather uncomfortable.

Having no choice, I pulled on the coat and followed Dante out into the cool autumn air. Following, I walked slightly behind him, lost in my thoughts. It was then that Dante started his 'name game'. Even after everything, he was still determined to find me a name.

"Gina?"

"No."

"Gertrude?"

"No."

Dante hummed thoughtfully as we continued to walk down the sidewalk. He walked casually, his hands laced together on top of his head. He turned to look at me, walking backward.

"Okay, Domino?"

"No." I scrunched up my face.

He laughed at my reaction, "Tina?"

"No."

"Alex?"

"No."

"Man, you're a tough cookie to crack." His eyes lit up with a sudden idea, "Cook—"

"No."

He laughed again, loud and happy as he slapped his hand on his leg. Turning back around, we turned down a side street which out us out on a small shopping district. I don't know why he said he needed a girls opinion for an important mission. If that was the case and it was demon related, shouldn't he have asked Trish? Or even Lady?

"Ren?"

"No."

"Francis?"

"No."

Dante hummed to himself as we continued to walk. The city was buzzing with life and movement, people coming and going. The air smelled faintly of car exhaust and while I still didn't like the smell, it had become familiar in a way.

"I have a question," Dante announced, stopping suddenly causing me to bump into him lightly. He smiled down at me as I backed up slightly.

"Okay," I said as I blinked at him.

"What's the deal with you and my bro?" His eyes were serious even though his voice was playful and I frowned, confused. What did he mean? It was clear Vergil hated me. I didn't understand why he was asking.

Dante grinned, "Nevermind. Here, this is the place." He turned and pushed a shop door open, allowing me to walk in first.

The shop was small but cozy. Filled will all kinds of different clothing for women. There were dresses that Kyrie would have loved. Shirts, jeans, shoes and...

"Hoodies," I whispered as my eyes were drawn to a small section in the back. Before I realized my feet were moving I found myself in front of them. There were so many, all in different sizes and colors. I let my fingers trail over the sleeves as I smiled. I'd have to remember this store when I had money.

I heard Dante approach and I remember we were here on a mission. Though, I was still uncertain as to what that was.

Dante grinned and pointed to the row of hoodies behind me. "You like these?"

I glanced behind me at them and then nodded. I really wanted a new one. Maybe I could ask Kyrie for help in getting a new one.

"Which ones?"

Blinking, I looked back at the row of hoodies, thinking. After a moment, I grabbed three different ones. A deep blue one, a dark purple one and a tie-dye one with all different colors. The last one made me smile as I pulled it out and showed it to Dante. It had the word 'Foxy' on the back of it. I didn't know what that meant, but I knew what a fox was. They were cute.

"Hmmm." He said thoughtfully, "Are you sure they're big enough?"

I blinked as I looked back at the hoodies in my arms. For me they were perfect, perhaps he was thinking of getting Lady or Trish one? Something must have shown on my face because he laughed.

"It's fine. I'm sure they will work great. I think we should get a few more though. Just in case."

Dante checked the sizes of the hoodies I grabbed and then pulled another four off the rack in different colors. A yellow, a forest green, a simple black one and another that was white with black flowers with splashes of red on their petals. When he showed them to me I smiled and nodded. I wasn't sure who he was buying these for, but I loved them.

I really needed to figure out how to earn some money.

Dante grabbed the other hoodies from my hands and walked to the front of the store. The woman behind the counter was nice enough, and once Dante paid for the hoodies we left.

The walk back to the shop was filled with silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable. It was nice actually. The sun felt good and Dante was always good company. Once we reached the shop and went inside, Dante turned with the bags of his purchases and plopped them in my arms.

Raising my eyebrows, I looked at him confused.

"Consider these a reward for helping Nero. Next time though, talk to someone before you go all... You know." He winked at me and I felt my face flush slightly for some reason. He was...giving these to me?

Grinning, I clutched the bags tighter against me. "Thank you!"

Dante laughed at my excited reaction and I hugged him with one arm the best that I could. I'd never received a present before. And these were the best presents ever.

A door slammed somewhere, making me jump as both Dante and I looked towards the stairs. Vergil walked briskly down them, refusing to look at either of us before walking out the front door and slamming that one behind him too as he left.

"Hey, go easy on the doors!" Dante shouted after him.

Vergil's energy spiked angrily followed by a loud, "Shut up!"

I frowned, he seemed worse than ever. I was beginning to think that things would never get better with me here. Maybe I should ask Trish and Lady if I could stay with them?

Squeezing the bags snugly against me, I looked at Dante. He shrugged, "Yeah, I'm not sure what's up his ass either. At first, I thought I had an idea, but now I think he's just being an ass."


	19. Ride

The laundry was just about done. I'd finally managed to completely repair Vergil's shirt that he had lent me after the attack of The Fallen. I had removed all the stains and sewn it with great care, making it look new again. I'd washed his blanket the next day after using it as a robe to get back to my room as well. I’d very carefully placed them outside his door in the hamper.  
  
Things were still tense when he and I were in the same room. I didn't know why either and when I tried to ask him about it, I was met with an annoyed look and more slamming doors.  
  
Nero had arrived back from his visit with Kyrie. He seemed content and his overall energy was light and peaceful. I was glad that I was able to help him, though I hadn't gotten a chance to speak with him yet about his Devil Bringer. Dante, Vergil, and Nero had been gone off and on due to various demon hunts and it was hard to keep up with their comings and goings most of the time. I ended up spending a lot of time by myself lately.  
  
Today was one of those days where I was alone in the shop. Dante had said either Trish or Lady would stop by to check on me. Though I was fine, Dante thought it was a good idea for one of them to make sure I wasn't attacked again. It was sweet that he was so concerned for my wellbeing.  
  
There was a knock at the main door and a moment later, Lady entered wearing a pair of low cut jeans and a black tank top. It was unusually casual dress attire for her and I found myself blinking in surprise mid fold of Dante's boxers. I had nice pristine piles of the men’s laundry on Dante’s desk.  
  
Lady chuckled as she slipped off her sunglasses, exposing her bi-colored eyes. I tried not to stare at them, but it was hard. They were so unusual to me but extremely beautiful.  
  
"You're seriously folding his underwear?"  
  
I nodded and smiled. Lady and Trish always seemed to be worried about the amount of work I was in charge of. But honestly, it wasn't much at all. It felt good to stay busy, helped keep my mind off of other things that were bothering me. Like my frequent nightmares that had started to creep up again or Vergil’s hateful eyes. I was still currently trying to find someone to fix the pool table and jukebox that I'd broken. I’d even tried to find a book on repairing the jukebox at least, hoping that learning something new would keep my mind busy. So far though, I hadn’t had any luck with either one.  
  
Lady set her sunglasses down on Dante’s desk and looked over the massive piles of laundry I’d done. Anytime they came back with holes or stains I always did my best to repair them. Reaching out, Lady ran her fingertips over a part of Nero’s pants that I’d patched and sewn.  
  
“Did you do this?”  
  
I nodded, continuing to fold the laundry. Lady turned her attention fully on me and I felt her eyes watch me closely. I looked back at her, tilting my head slightly.  
  
“Why don’t you stop folding and come with me? Trish is cooking tonight and then we are going out. Tonight is Halloween.”  
  
“Hallow…een?” I asked. I’d never heard of Halloween before. “What is that?”  
  
Lady laughed and grabbed a pair of Vergil’s gloves I was about to fold. “You’ve never celebrated Halloween?”  
  
I shook my head, attempting to grab the gloves back.  
  
“Nope. Come on. Let’s go. These boys can finish their own laundry.”  
  
Before I could say anything she put on her sunglasses and took my hand, dragging me towards the door. I barely had enough time to grab one of my new hoodies and slip it on before I found myself outside.  
  
Lady pulled a set of keys from her pocket and locked the door behind us. She smiled as she turned back to me as I tried to get my eyes to adjust to the sudden bright light of the afternoon. It was always dark in the shop. Lady smirked as she pushed me down the few steps towards a motorcycle that was parked just off to the side.  
  
I’d seen them in magazines that Dante read sometimes and I’d always been curious as to how one was ridden. They looked dangerous. But the idea of not being enclosed in a car was appealing as well.  
  
Lady grabbed the helmet off the seat and put it on before reaching into a side bag on the bike and pulling out a spare. She handed it to me and I was surprised at how heavy it actually was. I pulled it onto my head, but I couldn’t seem to get the strap. Fiddling with the clasp, Lady helped me secure it onto my head. Stepping back she chuckled as I peered at her through the wind guard on the front of the helmet.  
  
“You know, with that black sweater you’ve got on you look pretty badass.”  
  
I smiled, it was unusual for Lady to be so casual around others. Most of the time she seemed pretty calloused. But there were rare moments when she was like she was now, calm and nice.  
  
“Come on.” Lady slung her leg over the motorcycle and started the engine. The loud roar echoed down the street as she revved it and I felt myself take a step back, startled. She looked at me as she waited and finally I managed to muster up enough courage to get on.  
  
The moment my leg was over, she shifted the pedal by her foot and we jumped forward.  
  
I let out a startled sound and distantly I heard Lady’s muffled laughter through the helmet and wind whipping by us. I’d squeezed my eyes shut as I wrapped my arms around her waist, afraid of falling off. It wasn’t long before my eyes were open and I was watching the city speed by us. The wind flipped my long braid behind me, rushing all around me.  
  
It felt like…  
  
Flying…  
  
I felt my wings shift under my hoodie, wanting to stretch them and feel the wind through my feathers. If I could have taken it off without falling, I would have.  
  
The ride was pure freedom and I found myself laughing with happiness as we turned sharply on corners and Lady increased the speed. It felt good to laugh. It felt good to fly.  
  
Even if it was only on a motorcycle...


	20. Halloween

Trish and Lady's apartment was located in a quiet neighborhood on the north side of the city. There were only a handful of people who actually lived in the building, providing a cozy, homey atmosphere. I was surprised to find out that the energy I faintly felt through the walls was of older people.  
  
I followed Lady inside as she opened the door to their apartment, the smell of warm delicious food filling the air. Music was softly playing in the background, upbeat and heart thumping. Dante would have liked it. Their home was a mix of comfy looking furniture and cute little plastic bats hanging from the ceiling, paper pumpkins with black and orange streamers lining the walls.  
  
It was much different than I imagined and when I walked to take a closer look at what appeared to be a spider web, Lady chuckled.  
  
"It's fake. These are Halloween decorations." Pointing to the things I'd noticed I nodded, frowning slightly. I wasn't sure why pumpkins would be decorative. Or bats for that matter. And why would someone hang fake spider webs in their home?  
  
Trish came into the room from the small kitchen. Wearing tight fitting shorts and a tight shirt, not for the first time I wondered if everything she owned was snug fitting. With a grin on her face, she greeted me, "I see we have a guest. How are you 613?"  
  
I smiled, "I'm fine." Out of everyone, Trish was surprisingly the easiest to talk to.  
  
Trish smiled at Lady and walked over to her, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. Lady smiled in return and I frowned slightly. Trish had kissed Lady on the cheek and she seemed happy. Why wasn't Vergil?  
  
Trish looked at me, catching my frown, "What's wrong?"  
  
Lady looked at me as well and I sighed softly, "Vergil didn't like it when I kissed his cheek."  
  
Trish and Lady both stilled, their mouths hanging open slightly. They were still for so long that I grew worried.  
  
"Did I...say something wrong?"  
  
Kyrie had warned me when I talked to her last that I should be careful what I said. She warned me that most people in the world did not like whole truths. Which I found strange. Why would you want someone to lie to you?  
  
Trish was first to respond, her shoulders started to shake as she tried not to laugh, "Oh no, you didn't say anything wrong. We're just surprised. You kissed Vergil?"  
  
Lady rolled her eyes and snorted, "Why would you do that? He's not even a man, just an asshole."  
  
"Because he let me sleep in his bed." While I didn't exactly know what an 'asshole' was I did know what an 'ass' was. And Vergil certainly was that.  
  
Silence filled the air as they exchanged a look of surprise. Their energy was hard to read and I started to fidget for the invisible onslaught. Maybe I had said something wrong? Maybe my actions towards Vergil were wrong? Was that why he was so angry with me?  
  
Trish clapped her hands together, "Alright, this seems like a topic to discuss over dinner."  
  
I blinked as Trish pulled me towards the kitchen. Taking a seat at the table, Lady sat next to me as Trish brought plates piled high with spaghetti and meatballs. Sitting down Trish grinned, "Dig in!"

* * *

The next hour was filled with conversation as we ate. They asked for details regarding me kissing Vergil and me sleeping in his bed. I explained the best that I could, but the more I talked the more I felt like perhaps I should have apologized to him. Trish and Lady seemed amused. Their energy hummed faintly and I found that it was almost comforting in a way.  
  
When we finally finished eating, which consisted of me taking a few bites, Lady eating half her plate and Trish having seconds; Trish pulled down the hallway and into their bedroom. I stared wide-eyed as Trish started digging through their closet. Lady was currently in the kitchen doing the dishes.  
  
"So do you like Vergil?" Trish asked from the depths of the closet. I peeked inside, only to see Trish half bent over and knee deep in a pile of clothes.  
  
"Like?"  
  
"You know, 'like' like him. Romantically." She said matter of factly as she tossed a balled up piece of glittering green cloth towards me. Catching it, I frowned.  
  
"I don't know, I've never experienced romance. Regardless, Vergil has nothing but hate for me. I think...maybe I should leave." My voice grew quiet as I finished, looking at the cloth in my arms.  
  
Trish made a soft humming noise bringing my attention to her leaning in the doorway of the closet.  
  
"Man, I can't remember ever being as innocent as you." She grinned, showing pearly white teeth. It sent off a wave of predatory energy and I found myself stepping back slightly.  
  
"Don't worry, we're going to have fun tonight."

* * *

I felt...awkward.  
  
Trish said that the spirit of Halloween was to dress up and have fun. I wasn't sure what kind of fun she was talking about, but I was pretty sure it didn't involve me in a tight dress, heels with a flower crown on my head and calling myself a 'nymph'.  
  
It was uncomfortable. To the point where when Trish (dressed as a pirate wench) and Lady (dressed as a pirate captain) went to pull me outside, I had a small panic attack. I didn't want my wings exposed. In my experience, humans didn't react very well.  
  
Trish assured me that this was the one day of the year that no one cared. They'd all just assume they were part of my costume. Still slightly nervous, I allowed them to pull me out of their apartment and outside. The cool air felt nice against my bare shoulders and it felt good, in a strange way, to have my wings out and able to move freely.  
  
Trish and Lady took me to a 'haunted house' down a few blocks away from their apartment. It wasn't a house, but an old church that appeared to have been falling apart for years. There was already a line of people forming and I made sure to stay close to Lady and Trish.  
  
Trish grinned as we fell in line, it was actually moving at a good pace and it wasn't long before we were at the front door. The distant sounds of screams echoing inside had me on high alert, the air filled with a mix of fear and excitement. Did people like being scared? How was this fun?  
  
"Relax, just don't attack anyone if they jump out at you." Said, Lady, as she adjusted her pirate sword on her hip. It may have been fake, but it looked lethal none the less.  
  
I nodded slightly as the door appeared to open without assistance and with a soft push on my lower back from Trish, we entered the dark space.


	21. Trap

My eyes quickly adjusted to the darkened room as we entered. The energy inside seemed to intensify with fear, excitement and...something else making the air feel heavy. Trish and Lady pulled me along through the front entryway and into the first one.  
  
Trish had given me a general idea of what a haunted house was on the walk over. Basically, it was a place to scare you, a sort of entertainment. Halloween was a 'time for fright'.  
  
However, I was at a loss for how the first room was scary, fun, or entertaining...  
  
Blood soaked the walls, dripping down to pool on the cement floor. A woman with chocolate skin and soft brown eyes lay on a table with her mouth hanging open. Her abdomen was completely ripped apart as a small child ate the entrails, hungrily.  
  
The scene was horrific and yet, the energy of the dead woman was light and filled with suspense. Like she was alive. As I stood there watching her, she suddenly started screaming in agony. Startled, I felt Trish's hands land on my shoulders.  
  
"Man, I can't believe they went with this same room as the opener again." Her voice was casual and her electric energy zinged briefly through my shoulders, making my wings shift.  
  
"Opener?" I just couldn't tear my eyes away from the woman...was this...fake?  
  
"Yeah, every year they try for the scariest thing possible and that's the first room. It's supposed to get you freaked out enough that you get scared more easily." Lady commented as she moved passed the screaming woman to a door on the other side.  
  
Trish grinned, "Come on Nymph, get that cute ass moving. We don't want you to get eaten by goblins do we?"  
  
I blinked, eaten by goblins? What was a goblin?  
  
Trish laughed as she pulled me through the door Lady went through.  
  
The following rooms were not as horrific. I wasn't scared at all. Though I now understood what Lady said about people jumping out at you. I almost went to grab a man dressed as a skeleton when he jumped out of a trap door in the wall. There were so many people and so much energy flowing through the building, it was hard to tell where everyone was.  
  
Trish and Lady had a good time scaring each other and other people we came across. Their energy hummed with happiness and love, making me smile. I wondered, for probably the hundredth time, why Vergil was so upset with me and how I could fix it.  
  
We continued on through the last part of the haunted house and ended up at a dead end. We backtracked a bit and found a single door which led to the basement. It was darker than dark down there and the energy shifted considerably. The fear-driven fun was suddenly replaced by a menacing darkness that had me take a step back. Trish and Lady seemed to feel the shift too and I could see them barely touching each other as they looked around in the darkness.  
  
Something was moving down here, something dark and...  
  
"Down!" I yelled as a blacker than black moving mass went right for Lady. It missed both her and Trish as they dodged it. Barreling into the side wall, two deep red glowing eyes shined out as a loud growl rumbled.  
  
"What the hell is that thing doing here?" Lady hissed as she stood.  
  
The red eyes drifted to Lady and Trish for a moment before settling finally on me. The dark energy hummed violently and I felt my heart start to pound. There wasn't just one, there was an entire basement filled with demons. The energy upstairs was overshadowing all of the negativity down below so I couldn't feel it.  
  
This was a trap...  
  
"You two need to get out of here and make sure everyone gets out." My voice was calm and soft, surprising even myself.  
  
"Hell no. That's just stupid." Lady growled as she pulled a pistol out of her costume. Trish also pulled a pair of pistols out, aiming at the red-eyed demon.  
  
"You don't understand. They're not after you. You need to move and get these people out of this building." My voice was still calm, but the negative energy was intensifying. I could feel the demons in the darkness, their intent.  
  
If they couldn't get to me, they'd kill everyone in this building. We were outnumbered. "We need them. We need Dante and the others." I whispered as my wings expanded, stretching, feeling the space around me. I could feel my skin start to burn as the pearl colored armored scales pushed through my skin. They flowed over my hands, claws shifting smoothly out like water. In a moment the red haze covered my vision and I felt myself slip away as slow laughter echoed from my lips in the room.  
  
"613, don't!" Trish yelled as I felt myself shift forward, a ball of light energy in my hands as I slashed at the feline shape of the Shadow. The darkness surrounding it didn't waver and in the next instant, a Soul Eater latched onto my back shoulder, attempting to suck my life energy.  
  
It burned and cut deep at the same time, it's tendrils lacing around my neck and arm.

I laughed louder...

* * *

The phone rang loudly, interrupting Vergil from his thoughts. He was trying desperately to figure out the best way to get the girl out, permanently. He wasn't sure what it was, but since she kissed his cheek he couldn't seem to stop thinking about her. She was like a slow moving poison working its way through his veins like liquid fire.  
  
He'd spent the last week listening to her making pained noises in her sleep from nightmares. He'd stood outside her door listening and waiting. When she stopped, he finally left to go back to his room until she started up again.  
  
What the hell was wrong with him? Why did it matter to him if she was having nightmares? But it did. It mattered. And it was annoying.  
  
"Yo!" His brother yelled from the shower through the open bathroom and hallway door, "you gonna answer that?!"  
  
"I'm not a secretary." Vergil ground out as he walked to the desk in a few long strides. If Nero was here and not at the corner store, he'd have made him answer it.  
  
"What?" He answered, irritated.  
  
"Vergil!" Trish said, somewhat loudly. She was less irritating than Lady, but only just.  
  
"I said, what?" He was a half second away from hanging up.  
  
Gunfire erupted in the background with Lady yelling distantly behind it. There was a loud explosion followed loud, manic laughter. It sounded like...the girl. Vergil felt his hand grip the phone tighter as he listened to demonic shrieks echo and the wet sloppy sound of something hitting a floor or wall.  
  
"Get to St. Anthony's! Now!" She screamed into the phone, a second later it disconnected and Vergil found himself staring at the phone.  
  
Dante emerged from the upstairs, clean and drying his hair with a towel. He wore a clean pair of boxers and socks as he padded down the stairs.  
  
"Who was it?" Dante asked.  
  
Vergil deliberately kept his face blank as he checked his sword, "Trish said there's a problem at St. Anthony's."  
  
Dante blinked, "Oh?"  
  
Vergil nodded as he barely managed to keep a normal pace towards the door. What he really wanted to do was run as fast as he could. But he couldn't explain why. It was irritating and the closer to the door he got the more pissed off he was getting.  
  
"Uh..." Dante said, watching him walk to the front door with a determined and annoyed look on his face.  
  
"Hurry up," Vergil said in response as he left the shop, the sound of quick footsteps drifting through the opened door right before it shut.


	22. Trance

I feasted on demonic flesh as quickly as I could. Much in the same way I had The Fallen, however, this was bloodier as I was taking a lot more damage in an attempt to keep the humans safe. Trish and Lady did their best, as guns are extremely useful when dealing with Shadows. The soul eaters were a larger problem because they shifted in and out of the physical plane. It took several attempts but I finally managed to catch one off guard and tear into it with razor sharp teeth and claws.  
  
People ran screaming and parts of the building collapsed as I tried to keep the demons focused on me. My vision was still filled with a deep red haze and I was only partly conscious of what I was actually doing. I could feel my body becoming worn down. There were simply too many and it didn't matter how many I destroyed and ate, they kept coming.  
  
It also didn't help that I couldn't manage to get the Soul Eater off my shoulder. It had secured itself under my wing and every time I attempted to pull it off by one of its tendrils, it shifted out of the physical plane but was still attached to me.  
  
If this kept up for much longer, I'd pass out soon.  
  
The fight had started in the basement but had moved to the church itself as the demons tried to flank me or go after lone humans. The small child in the first room had almost met her end as a Shadow leaped to sink its jagged teeth into her. I managed to block the attack while Trish grabbed the girl, but it cost me by grabbing my wing.  
  
Blood dripped down my wing as it tried to shake me like a rabid dog. Though I wanted to scream in pain, my body was not my own and instead, I laughed gleefully. It was a strange sensation, but necessary at the same time. Lady fired a few quick rounds into the Shadow, dispelling the dark shroud it used to protect itself and take its form. With its soft, horrific form finally exposed I managed to grab a hold of it and rip it apart in a sudden wash of black, sticky demon blood.  
  
Lady moved to another room and I phased through the next two walls looking for the Soul Eater that I could feel hiding there. I searched for it in the darkened room, but the Soul Eater attached to me still continued to drain my energy. It caused me to stagger and I took another swipe at it, trying to remove it.  
  
The sharp sound to metal slicing through the air brought my attention away from the Soul Eater on my shoulder and towards the entrance to the room. Vergil emerged, walking a steady pace and his cold blue eyes taking me in.  
  
I wasn't sure what I looked like, but I knew that the costume Trish had let me borrow was completely destroyed. I could still feel the hidden Soul Eater in the room but it was getting harder to sense exactly where it was. Vergil raised a brow ever so slightly as he came closer. Walking behind me, he carefully lifted my wing and with a quick slash of Yamato the Soul Eater shrieked as it detached itself. Finally free of the wrecked thing, I moved to snag it and caught it easily, ripping it apart with my claws and eating it hungrily.  
  
Vergil watched me as I devoured it quickly, his face unreadable. I wanted to explain that I was purging the negative energy and absorbing it, but...I didn't think he cared. Standing, we watched each other for a moment.  
  
His cold icy blue eyes looked closely at me and I got the same sense that I was naked again, like before in his bed. His energy was a mix of relief, annoyance and something else that I couldn't name. I felt an odd sensation somewhere in my chest and for a moment I felt the red haze lift, if ever so slightly.  
  
It was gone in the next instant as the Soul Eater that had been hidden made its presence known. It's dark purple shadow like tendrils reached out to Vergil, ready to latch onto his back. Without a thought to my actions, I rushed forward knocking Vergil down and grabbing the Soul Eater quickly with my clawed armored hands. He landed flat on his back as I straddled his chest.  
  
Bringing the nasty energy sucking demon to my mouth I ripped into it viciously. In moments it was dead, covering both Vergil and me in a splash of black demon blood. My armor glowed faintly as the negative energy was balanced out from the sacrifice. It was sad in a way that these twisted, hideous things were once angels such as myself. They were once purifiers like me, who had lost their way in the darkness.  
  
The soft touch of warm, strong hands had me looking down at Vergil who was under me. I tilted my head slightly as I looked at his intense face. I couldn't read it and his energy was all over the place. I blinked slowly as I felt his hands grip my outer thighs slightly tighter. The sensation made my skin tingle as my thighs were bare due to only needing my armor on my hands and face; as well as Trish's dress being practically shredded.  
  
It was...odd.  
  
I could feel the demonic negativity inside him, but it wasn't consuming. It felt carefully calculated like all things Vergil seemed to do when he thought about it. The light and the dark existed in harmony, even if in his mind it wasn't. It was beautiful and almost intoxicating. So much so that I found myself pushing through the red haze of my vision and leaning down close to him until our noses almost touched.  
  
His balance of light and dark was hard earned. He fought for it, slaved for it, almost died trying to find it. And yet, he didn't think he had found it. Didn't think that he was able to be anything else than what he was.  
  
I traced my clawed hands over the cloth of his blue coat until my fingertips brush the skin of his neck. He shuddered slightly, gripping my thighs harder as I felt part of my energy follow the path of my fingers. His energy was so enchanting that if wanted to taste it, roll in it, bathe in it...I could have.  
  
The sudden sound of gunfire and screaming brought me out of the trance I'd fallen into and a second later I was up off of Vergil and phasing through walls towards Trish who was cornered.


	23. Resolve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm seriously considering doing a smutty scene between 613 and Vergil. 
> 
> I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts or opinions.
> 
> And as always, thank you for taking time to read, leaving Kudos and comments!

The battle was over.

The building was now completely quiet, though it was in complete disarray as props had been destroyed along with sections of wall. Dante, Trish and Lady had made sure no one was hurt and they were currently speaking with police officers. Nero and Vergil had managed to keep the demons from escaping the building while I finished neutralizing their negative energy.

I stood in the center of the basement, out of sight of the police officers like Dante requested. He knew them well apparently, which was good because I didn't want to scare anyone with explaining what I had done and why.

Death was the ultimate sacrifice for angel or demon.

There were so many that had to be purged, I felt sad.

I didn't get sick this time, though my body felt incredibly weak. My shoulder ached from where the Soul Eater had bitten me. I had bruises that were fading quickly on my arms and legs and a few deep cuts from getting too close to a Shadow before I realized it was there. I was healing quickly, but the damage had been repetitive making some of the wounds take longer.

The saddest part was I had completely ruined Trish's costume she let me borrow. My 'nymph' dress was barely holding on as being called a dress. There were huge tears in it and it's once glittering green color was now sticky and black with demon blood. I was thankful that I couldn't look in a mirror.

I'd lost the heels somewhere along the way and the flowered crown had fallen off a long time ago. My braided hair had also come undone and was now hanging I. Sticky black waves down my shoulders. My wings felt okay, if a little stiff. The bite I'd taken earlier on the wing hand healed quickly.

The sound of boots on stairs brought my head up from looking at the dress. Now that there were no more demons, the basement was easier to see in as their oppressive energy had blacked out the two over head lights that were on.

Vergil came down the stairs, covered in black splashes of demon blood on his beautiful coat. I frowned as he stopped at the base of the stairs and watched me. Silence filled the quiet space and I fidgeted with a loose piece of cloth on the dress near my hip. His energy was unusually quiet. I wasn't sure if that was because I'd absorbed so much from the demons aid consumed or if he was doing it himself. Regardless, the silence was making me feel nervous.

"I'm...sorry about your...coat." I said softly, I felt a little hesitant because my apologies never seemed to make anything better.

"You should be." He said, his voice cold and hostile.

I frowned deeper as I watched him come closer.

"Most of this is from you eating that demon."

I blinked, briefly remembering pushing him down to get the Soul Eater that was about to attack him. He was right, a good part of the mess was my fault.

"I'm sorry. I—"

Vergil stopped in front of me and a wash of emotion hit me hard, it felt heavy and filled with intent. I couldn't place the emotion, but it made me shift slightly backwards.

I blinked up at him as his eyes met mine, they looked so cold but something seemed to be shifting in them. A thought maybe? I wasn't sure. The air hummed softly between us and I started to faintly feel the careful balance of his energy. It seemed to call to me and once again I felt myself being drawn towards him.

I wanted to taste it. To touch it. To make that carefully balanced dark and light energy mine.

I took a step forward as Vergil watched me closely. I wasn't sure if I should touch him, or if he'd even allow it. But something wanted me to, desperately so. It grew in intensity and I found myself panting from it. Whatever this was, was rolling off of him in waves.

A loud bang of a door being kicked open and Dante's voice from the upstairs doorway brought me out of the trance.

"Hey! 613, we're good to go now. You seen Vergil?"

Blinking, I realized that I was so close to Vergil that if I had shifted even a tiny bit, our bodies would be touching. His eyes were slightly wide and his chest was rising and falling quickly, as if he could feel it too. In the next moment his face grew annoyed as he shot a glare at the stair case.

"I'm right here, you idiot." He snarled as he yanked his blood soaked coat off and dropped it over my shoulders. It effectively covered my wings and my destroyed costume. Unlike Dante's old heavy coat, Vergil's was lighter and soft on the inside. It was warm with his body heat and I realized for the first time how cold I was.

Dante's foot steps came down the stairs and as soon as he spotted me he smiled, "Hey, you feeling okay?"

I glanced at Vergil, who clicked his tongue and refused to look at me. He walked away from me and passed his brother without a glance as I stood there. I was...so confused. If he hated me, why did he wrap his coat around me? Why did he look so annoyed?

Vergil's heavy foot steps faded and Dante looked at me with a big grin, "Man, I can't tell if he hates you or likes you." Dante laughed as my eyes grew a little wide.

"Just kidding, but he does act really weird around you. But hey, let's get out of here yeah? I don't know about you, but I need another shower."

He grinned as he wiggled his eye brows and I smiled. I didn't get a lot of Dante's jokes, but I did get that they were supposed to be funny. I nodded and followed him up the stairs and out of the haunted house.

* * *

"What the hell am I doing?" Vergil whispered to himself as he paced his bedroom.

"What the hell was she doing?" He whispered, more annoyed.

At first he had been worried about what was happening at the chruch. When he arrived to see her face and arms covered on pearl scaly armor in a low cut dress, splashed with demon blood...

Well something in his brain shifted....

She looked deadly, beautiful and seductive as he watched her. After he spotted the dark tendril of the Soul Eater attached to her and removed it, being closer to her had sent his heart pounding. He was...glad? Happy? Relieved? That she was okay?Something in his stomach loosened and in the next instant, she'd shoved him to the floor to snatch a Soul Eater from behind him.

He didn't know if it was intentional that she straddled his chest with her thick thighs, and it did not escape his notice that her dress was practically hanging off of her. Her soft pale skin had almost glowed in the darkness through the holes in the dress. Without thinking he had brought his hands to her thighs, fully intending to shove her off of him.

However, the moment he touched her, he could feel something coming off of her, an energy. It felt warm and comforting. It called to him and when she noticed his hands on her, she leaned down giving him a good look at her supple breasts...

Vergil growled as he tried to get a grip.

This had gone to far.

He wasn't so stupid that he couldn't admit, if only to himself, that she was attractive. He'd seen lots of attractive women at Love Planet, so it was nothing new to him. The problem was, she wasn't just another stupid human woman.

She was unique.

Irritated with himself, Vergil left his room with the intention of going to the bathroom to splash cold water on his face. He'd gotten all the way down the hall, into the bathroom and shut the door before he realized that the shower was running. Assuming it was his brother, he didn't announce his presence. Instead he turned on the sink.

Just as he was about to splash his face with cold water, a soft feminine moan had him freeze in place.

He was sad to admit that that soft moan, either of pain or pleasure he wasn't sure, had sent his heart racing.

Slowly he turned the water off as he stood, looking at his reflection in the mirror. The shower curtain behind him shifted slightly as another soft moan, this one sounding more painful, echoed in the small space. A part of a wing stretched over the top of the shower, almost touching the ceiling with its soft dove like feathers.

Vergil wasn't sure what to do, if he left now, she might notice he was there. If he didn't she'd definitely find him and then how would he explain that? The issue at hand wasn't so much him getting caught, but the fact that her soft moans were making him want to see why she was making those sounds to begin with.

Slowly, Vergil turned and eyed the shower curtain. There was a small gap on the side where she hadn't closed it all the way. Carefully, he stepped closer as she made another soft moan. Convincing himself that the only reason he was looking was because he was curious if she was okay and not because he wanted to see her wet, soapy body....

He really needed to stop thinking....

Leaning in, he peeked behind the shower curtain at the girl who was slowly destroying his resolve...


	24. Touches

The water was hot and felt good against my cold skin. It took a lot of scrubbing to get the demon blood off of my skin and out of my hair. Surprisingly, my wings were the easiest to clean if not the most difficult because the shower was small. I lathered more soap onto a washcloth and began scrubbing once more.  
  
Sharp pain seemed to cut into me as I washed and I winced. Carefully running my hand over the area I discovered that I had a six-inch long gash along my lower side. I touched it gently and let out a soft moan of pain, Vergil's sword must have cut me when I pushed him down. It hadn't hurt before, but it hurt now.  
  
Pulling my hand away, I watched as the warm water washed away the bright red blood. If I was in a fight again with Vergil I'd have to be very careful not get in his way. Yamato could kill me if I wasn't careful.  
  
I had a massive buildup of purified energy inside myself after the fight and I could very easily use a small part of it to heal the wound, but it wasn't my energy to take. I was storing it for now until I could figure out what to do with it. I couldn't remember if I could transfer it to anything other than a living thing.  
  
There were still big gaps in my memory.  
  
I moaned again as I stretched my wing as high as I could, in order for the water to clean the wound. It stung and yet felt good at the same time. It would probably heal in a matter of hours, so I'd just have to bandage it once I was out of the shower.  
  
After checking it again, it seemed the blood had finally slowed down enough, indicating that it was attempting to heal now. Settling my wing back into place, I turned the shower off. It was then that I heard the faint shuffling of boots in the room, which startled me. I hadn't felt anyone else in the small space.  
  
Maybe my energy sense had shut down again?  
  
Pulling back the curtain quickly, I found myself staring at two startled, cold blue eyes.  
  
"Vergil...?" I said as I tilted my head to look at him. He stood in front of the sink with his hands at his sides, he hadn't taken off his clothing from the fight yet. But had unbuttoned a few of the buttons up near his neck on his shirt. There were a few small areas on his clothes were blood had soaked through his coat to stain underneath.  
  
The startled look on his face was quickly replaced with a slightly uncomfortable look, a soft tinge of red dusting his cheeks. I watched as he broke eye contact and grabbed a fluffy towel from the shelf. Holding it out to me, his eyes stayed focused on the back of the closed bathroom door.  
  
Slowly, so I didn't startle him further, I stepped out of the shower and took the towel. Carefully wrapping it around my body and under my wings, I tucked the corner of it across my chest to secure it. Once it was on, Vergil finally looked at me again.  
  
I wasn't sure what he was doing in the bathroom with me. Maybe he was impatient to use the shower? It was hard to tell what his intention was as I couldn't read his energy at the moment, but his eyes trailed across my face and down to my shoulders before snapping back to my eyes. He shifted his feet slightly and I found myself smiling. He didn't seem irritated or angry, but his mannerisms were...cute.  
  
Or at least I found them amusing. Trish had called Nero cute before when he did something out of character, so maybe cute was the right word.  
  
“Thank you,” I said as I motioned to the towel. I was expecting his face to turn hostile, or even nasty like it normally did. However, this time he watched me for a moment before he spoke.  
  
“Are you hurt?”  
  
I found myself staring at him. His voice wasn’t cold or nasty, it was calm like we were simply talking about the weather. I noticed for the first time that his voice was slightly deeper than Dante’s and though they were twins his face looked slightly sharp because he wasn’t glaring at me.  
  
“I’m fine. I just have a cut from where your sword accidentally hit me when I pushed you down to get the Soul Eater.”  
  
His eyes drifted down to my side where the cut was and seemed to focus on the area. Looking down, I realized that some blood had seeped through the towel. I touched the blood-soaked area gently frowning, I’d have to make sure the towel didn’t stain.  
  
I jumped slightly when Vergil’s warm hand carefully, pulled the towel aside to expose my side where the wound was. He was slow, making sure that the towel didn’t come undone as he looked down at my side and bare hip. I held my breath as his fingertips gently ghosted my skin close to the wound. I shuddered slightly as goosebumps rose along my side, a strange feeling overcoming me.  
  
I couldn’t explain it.  
  
It made my heart pound and the breath I had been holding eased out as I began to breathe heavier. His fingers traced the small area a little more as he stepped slightly closer. His eyes held mine and I felt my wings flutter, unsure of what was going on or what I should do.  
  
“Yamato did this?” He almost whispered and I found myself swallowing hard.  
  
“Y-yes. It didn’t affect me b-before…” my words wavered as he let his full hand caress my lower side and hip, it was suddenly harder to breathe, “b-because of the harness.” I managed to finish my sentence but only just.  
  
A soft knock at the door had Vergil snatching his hand away and me clutching my towel around myself.  
  
“Hey, you almost done in there?” Nero’s voice came through muffled as Vergil and I stared at each other.  
  
I had the distinct feeling that it would not be good in Nero walked in and saw me and Vergil in the bathroom together. Knowing that I was breaking one of Dante’s rules, I phased through the wall of the bathroom into Dante’s room and then Vergil’s just as Nero turned the doorknob to the bathroom. Positive that Nero was distracted with Vergil standing in the bathroom I quickly phased through Vergil’s door, through the hallway, and into my room.  
  
Leaning up against the back of the door, now alone I realized I was panting and my heart was racing.  
  
What the hell was that?


	25. Chess

Dante was playing chess with Vergil.  
  
Which basically meant that Vergil was winning, but Dante was having fun irritating him with pointless moves. Nero had decided to take another trip to see Kyrie and Trish and Lady were busy checking out old texts from the Angelic Wars as a favor. Dante had asked them to find out anything they could about Angels that might relate to their newest live-in. So far they'd turned up squat, but there were rumors of an old abandoned village on a remote island down south.  
  
After the Halloween battle at the haunted house, Dante had grown increasingly curious about the girl's origins. He'd asked a few questions and she'd been as truthful as she could, but there were still a lot of things she either couldn't explain or didn't know. Dante was hoping that maybe something somewhere had been written down.  
  
He'd also noticed since the battle that 613 and his brother had been acting stranger than usual. Quick glances and a tenseness in the air that wasn't hostile, but filled with intent.  
  
Dante knew sexual tension when he saw it.  
  
The problem was his brother and his 'secret' crush didn't seem to know what the hell it was they were doing. He'd thought about resorting to drastic measures, just to see how far his brother had gotten with his feelings. But he'd scraped the idea. It was clear in the crease in Vergil's brow that he didn't know exactly how he felt or why.  
  
Which was as painful to watch as it was amusing.  
  
Dante moved a pawn in front of Vergil's knight, earning him a glare. Grinning brightly he waited while Vergil made his move. Silence filled the empty space and not for the first time, Dante wished his jukebox was working.  
  
Vergil ignored the pawn and instead moved his rook to take one of Dante's Knights.  
  
While Dante was trying to find the most annoying move possible, a soft humming was heard coming from the kitchen. Both brothers looked at each other for a moment as the tune seemed to drift around them, whispering soothingly too them.  
  
This wasn't the first time they'd heard her hum to herself while cooking. She'd been doing it more often since the Halloween battle. It was always a soft melody, hauntingly beautiful and sweet.  
  
In a way, it reminded Dante of his mother.  
  
Vergil decided to ignore the look on Dante's face and focus on the game at hand.  
  
"So," Dante said casually, "what's up with you and the girl? Anything interesting going on there?"  
  
Vergil cast a quick glare at him and went back to staring at the chess board.  
  
"I don't see how that is any of your business or relates to this game."  
  
Dante grinned as he moved another pawn close to the rook Vergil just moved. Irritated with the pointless move, Vergil moved the rook and took the pawn adding it to his growing pile of pieces.  
  
"So there is something going on." Dante laughed as Vergil's jaw tightened visibly.  
  
Vergil kept silent as Dante moved another piece, not caring where it ended up.  
  
"Soooo," he drawled, leaning forward over the chess board, "does she know you've got a thing for her? I mean, who would have thought my own brother, my twin, would be into an angel of all people. I always thought you'd go for a woman like Trish. You know, powerful, athletic, spunky."  
  
Vergil glared darkly at Dante as he moved another of his pieces almost viciously.  
  
Dante grinned as he moved another piece instantly so he might have lied when he said he wasn't going to resort to drastic measures. This was working out better than he thought.  
  
It was clear by the tenseness in his shoulders and the white of his knuckles as he clenched his fist, that Vergil was either going to snap at him verbally or physically. It was only a matter of time.  
  
"Power is all that matters." Vergil snapped, moving another piece. "I don't care about the mute and I certainly don't have a..." He visually cringed, "thing for her. She's a distraction and a walking problem that needs to be eliminated."  
  
Dante rested his chin on his fist as he propped it up with his elbow, "Alright."  
  
The simple answer seemed to startle Vergil into looking at him and Dante smirked, "If that's true, why were you in the bathroom while she was taking a shower?"  
  
If it weren't for the girl's humming distantly floating through the room from the kitchen, Dante would have thought that sound had just imploded. Vergil was deathly still, hand poised to touch one of his pieces as he stared at Dante.  
  
Dante smirked more, wiggling his eyebrows as Vergil's face slowly turned a little red.  
  
That was the biggest truthful reaction he'd ever gotten out of his brother that Dante thought he'd fall out of his chair from shock.  
  
The humming suddenly stopped and the girl opened the door to the kitchen, emerging wearing an apron over her bright yellow hoodie. She had a small smear of flour on the end of her nose and it was the most cutest thing Dante had ever seen. Sneezing a quick glance at Vergil, he must have thought so too because the redness of his face got deeper.  
  
"Dinner's ready." She said with a smile and Dante beamed, while his brother opted to try and keep his face neutral.  
  
"Great!" Said Dante enthusiastically. He jumped up from the table, stretching his arms over his head before walking over and slipping his arm around the girl's shoulders. Vergil stiffened as Dante grinned.  
  
"Come on bro. Food's gettin' cold."


	26. Release

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I've updated tags and the rating. 
> 
> For your reward for reading this far, a little scene just for the Vergil lovers out there.

It had been two weeks since Halloween, and Vergil was feeling restless.

Ever since he had been alone with her in the bathroom he'd become hyper-aware of her. It was annoying as it was intriguing. If he didn't see her periodically, he'd find himself wandering around looking for her. He was taken to listening intently whenever she was in her room, waiting for her to come out.

What he was waiting for he didn't know exactly.

The softness of her skin still lingered on his fingertips even after weeks of not touching her. It made him want to touch her more, caress that soft pale skin with his hands and lips.

That wasn't even the most difficult part. The wanting to touch her was simple and straightforward. Even though he had no idea what possessed him to want such a thing. But no, the wanting was easy, the doing...

Well, that was harder...

Dante seemed to have understood what the issue was, what his issue was. It opened up a whole slew of annoying topics, such as ' _you know, I've never seen her wash any girly underwear in the laundry_ ' or ' _maybe we should get her a little maid outfit to wear around here_ '. All aggravating and ridiculous topics that made Vergil want to plunge his sword into his brother's chest cavity.

During the day it was easier to distract himself, but at night it was much harder. He knew everyone was asleep, it would be so easy to slip into her room and...

Vergil groaned quietly as he rolled over in his bed. It wasn't that he didn't understand his urges, the problem was he didn't understand why this one just wouldn't go away like all the other ones. Maybe Dante was right, maybe it was because she was an angel? Or so he said. Vergil still had some reservations about that. He remembered her from when he was under Mundus’s control, but the memory was hazy and he could only remember bits and pieces.

Regardless, it wasn't just her body that he wanted. When she touched him, he could feel her energy pushing him, feeling him out, and exploring him. It was a kind of power that could make you beg and plead for more. And while he was thirsty for power to hone as his own, the fact that she could have brought him to his knees without him even being aware...or even caring.

It stirred something deep inside him.

Vergil clicked his tongue in annoyance as he laid on his side, fully awake and with a deep throbbing between his legs. It had grown uncomfortable in the last hour to the point where he was seriously considering taking care of the issue so he could finally stop thinking about her and get some sleep.

Once the thought had come to him, it was almost impossible to think of anything else but release and her supple breasts leaning over so he could suck on the taut nipples.

He couldn’t take it anymore and rolled over onto his back, his hard-on was straining against his sleep pants and once he pulled them down, the cool air of his room only seemed to make the aching worse. Wanting to get the deed done quickly and yet savor the image of the little mute vixen in his mind, Vergil began pumping his shaft with a firm hand.

He imagined caressing her soft skin, kissing her all over as he buried his hands in her soft, white hair. She’d moan softly in his ear as he teased her wet folds with his fingers, wanting to subject her to the same level of control he felt she had over him.

Vergil’s hand pumped faster and all too soon it was over in a hot, sticky wave of pleasure. He let out a soft breath, glad that he was able to control any noises that might alert anyone to what he was doing. All he needed was for Dante to find out and it would be all over.

Someone would die, or more specifically, Dante would die. Probably with a smile on his face and laughter on his lips.

* * *

 

St. Anthony’s Church was still standing, but it was clear that the building had seen better days. The street lights lit up the street as I stood just outside the iron fence that surrounds the church. The building was condemned now, with a large red sign posted on its door.

I felt bad that it was mostly my fault that the church had been closed completely, even if it hadn’t been used as a church in a long time.

The stained windows were dark, which was sad as I couldn’t tell what color any of them were. I was sure that in the church’s prime, it had been beautiful and heavenly. Allowing people to come and pray and find some sense of peace or solace.

It was past ten when I had started the long walk to the north side of town to the church. I’d been storing the purified energy for two weeks and it was beginning to wear on me. It needed a place to go, a new home. I’d thought about what I was going to do, which was a good distraction from Vergil and his intense gazes. It wasn't uncomfortable really, but it made my heart quicken and my knees tremble. I still had no explanation for it and had decided after I tried to fix the church I’d stop by Lady and Trish’s apartment.

I hadn’t been able to sleep lately anyway.

The streets were quiet and the sounds of downtown were softly echoing through the night sky. The stars were shining brightly and though the air was freezing, it felt good to be outside. I’d chosen to wear my black hoodie so it would be easier to hide if someone came to investigate while I was attempting to fix the church.

I took a deep breath of cold air into my lungs, placing my hands on the iron fence I quickly hopped over it in one smooth motion. Making my way silently to the front of the building, I phased through the door and into the small entrance way that led to the chapel. There was still a mass array of broken and discarding Halloween decorations lining the walls and the floor.

I frowned as I entered the main chapel area where the ‘haunted house’ had actually been. Whoever had put on the entertainment had cleared out the mass majority of the fake walls and the props. The space was now empty, except for a few things here and there that were forgotten or left behind.

The energy of the church was still like it was waiting. Over the last few days, I’d discovered that buildings had an energy too. Some were stagnant while others were vibrant. They each had their own personality, just like people. It was interesting to find that ‘Devil May Cry’ felt like an old man who didn’t mind having a few bricks missing or a few boarded windows up. It liked Dante and it liked me.

This church felt empty and hollow. Which was no surprise, it had housed a lot of demons in its basement and had been witness to their bloody ends. It felt broken, but quiet.

“Hello,” I said softly, my voice echoing in the dark space of the room.

“I would like to make you whole again. To fix you. If you will allow it. This purified energy,” I placed my hand on my heart as I spoke, “needs to go somewhere. It’s not mine to keep. I thought that it would help you.”

Silence drifted in as I finished speaking and I waited. My words were light but I was listened too with thoughtfulness. It didn’t take long for a soft calm to fill the air, as if it were waiting for me. As if it were ready.

I smiled, happy that I’d be able to return the energy to something that would do some good. I brought my hands together as if to pray and knelt down on the dusty, still bloodstained floor.

“It may take me a little while, it’s been a long time since I’ve tried and longer still since I could remember myself. Please be patient.”

My words were hushed as I slowly placed my hands, palms down on the old, stained hardwood of the church.


	27. Education

The walk to Lady and Trish's apartment was a short one. The energy transfer to the church was a success and I felt better. So much so because I wasn't trying to contain the purged soul energy of so many inside myself. I felt like I could finally breathe normally again.  
  
I stood outside the main door to their apartment and felt the energy of the building. Just like the older people who lived there, it seemed older and liked the quietness. Though it seemed to have allowed for Lady and Trish as rare exceptions. Maybe they were old souls?  
  
I phased through the door and walked up the stairs to their apartment. I probably should have called or let them know I was coming, but I didn't have any way to do that.  
I recognized Lady and Trish's energy on the other side of the wall next to the door and I frowned.  
  
It felt...different.  
  
It was warm and loving, like always, but it seemed to have a rhythm. Like a heartbeat. It seemed to intensify, growing brighter and almost tingling. It felt like the energy I'd felt before around Vergil, but more intense. There was the feeling of want, of need, of...release. It was so intoxicating, I found myself pressing up against the door.  
  
I could have phased through the door, but I got the feeling that would not be a good idea. Like when Vergil and I were in the bathroom alone.  
  
The energy kept building and when I feared there might be an explosion, it peaked. Soft moaning sounds echoed through the apartment. I bit my lip, I was worried that something bad was going on. Maybe they were hurt? There was a lot of energy on the other side of the door. But it wasn't negative.  
  
Deciding that I couldn't leave until I made sure they were okay, I knocked on the door.  
  
Their energy spiked with alarm and I faintly heard them talk as someone padded to the door. I stood back a little from the door as it cracked open to reveal Trish's face. The moment she saw me she chuckled and smiled warmly.  
  
"Well, this is a surprise." Her voice seemed different, haughtier somehow and I tilted my head curiously.  
  
"I'm sorry to stop by without warning. I was already in the area and wanted to talk. I got worried when the energy spiked inside your apartment."  
  
Trish blinked slowly and then laughed a little, "Oh, hunny we're fine. We were just...uh." Her face turned slightly red as Lady spoke up from behind her.  
  
"We're fine." Lady sounded a little irritated and I frowned as Trish pushed the door open to reveal herself dressed in a very short robe, and Lady in a loose fitting t-shirt and shorts.  
  
"I'm sorry..." I felt that I needed to apologize, but I wasn't sure why. "It's just that the energy you were giving off was intense and it felt like it was going to explode. I was worried."  
  
I fidgeted with the edge of my hoodie and was startled a moment later into looking up when Trish burst out laughing.  
  
"Oh man," she giggled as Lady slowly smirked behind her, "sweetie, there's a lot you don't know. Come on in. You wanted to talk right?"  
  
"Uh, yes?" I said I was confused. Just what exactly were they doing? What did I not know? Curious and confused, I walked into their apartment as Trish shut the door behind me.

* * *

I sat on the couch with Lady on my one side and Trish on my other.  
  
There was a warm cup of hot chocolate in my hands and I was currently staring at their tv with wide eyes.  
  
They had me sit down on the couch as I explained what was going on at the shop with Vergil. They'd been gone on a mission for something, so they didn't know what had happened after the Halloween battle. I explained the best that I could, but it was difficult to explain the energy I'd felt. I didn't fully understand it and when I explained how I felt the same energy coming from their apartment and with greater intensity...  
  
Trish took it upon herself to make me a cup of hot chocolate while Lady began to explain what an 'orgasm' was.  
  
That was four hours ago. The sky had lightened considerably outside with morning light now and I was currently drinking my seventh cup of hot chocolate.  
  
Trish had explained the mechanics, while Lady felt that watching movies would help to explain things a bit better. I'd only ever read about romance and love in books. And while I understood the difference between the different forms love took, I didn't really understand the concept of 'lust'.  
  
"It's a form of attraction, but more...intense. There's a need to touch someone, to have them touch you. It's not so much love as it is a want. Sometimes it turns into love, but sometimes it's just lust." Trish explained.  
  
"I can't believe 'Tin Man' even has the capacity to even lust after someone. He always made it seem like those kinds of things were beneath him." Lady added as she stretched her arms over her head.  
  
I raised a brow, "Tin Man?"  
  
"She means Vergil. He's a character in a movie who doesn't have a heart." Trish tried to clarify.  
  
"But...wouldn't he be dead?"  
  
The silence was sudden and Lady snickered, "Yeah."  
  
Trish shot Lady and quick glare as she shrugged, "Well, she's got a point. No heart equals death in most cases."  
  
"Look," Trish said, trying to steer us back on topic. "Vergil may be a prick, but he's still a guy and guys have urges."  
  
"And women," Lady added.  
  
I blinked, "But I thought that a man and a woman..."  
  
Trish seemed to know where I was going and smiled, "A woman can have sex with another woman, just like a man can have sex with another man. They just so it differently is all."  
  
I took a small sip of my hot chocolate as the noise on the tv drew my attention. A man and a woman were wrapped up in each other's arms making 'love'. We all grew quiet as we watched the scene. It seemed...  
  
"Sticky..." I whispered and Lady laughed.  
  
"Sticky?" She said, laughter still filling her voice.  
  
"It seems sticky and messy. Why would anyone want to do this more than once?" I asked Trish, who grinned.  
  
"Because it feels good."  
  
"Good?"  
  
"Yes. You said the energy was intoxicating right? That's actually not far from the truth." She and Lady shared a look, which I couldn't fully read.  
  
Frowning I turned back to the tv, yawning. For the first time in days, I was starting to feel tired. Probably because I'd gotten rid of the excess energy I'd been storing. Lady seemed to notice and stood, stretching.  
  
"Well, we've got some work to do today. Dante will probably be calling soon, would you like us to take you back to the shop?"  
  
I blinked as I set my cup down on the coffee table, "Could I...stay here for a little while longer?"  
  
Trish smiled and gave me a quick hug, her energy hummed along my body, warm and slightly electric.  
  
"Sure. You can stay as long as you like."  
  
I smiled and nodded my thanks as the two left to get dressed for the day. Alone, I thought back over my interactions with Vergil. Maybe he 'lusted' after me? But why? Did I lust after him? How would I know? Did he simply want to fill an urge? Or maybe he was so annoyed with me because he couldn't find release?  
  
Sadly, as I laid down on the couch, the tv still softly playing in the background as I closed my eyes; I had more questions than answers.


	28. Miracle

"She's sleeping on your couch?" Nero said with the barest hint of surprise. He was currently in the process of sharpening his sword, the Red Queen. Vergil was sitting quietly on the other end of the couch doing the same as Dante sat at his desk, feet kicked up on its edge and hands behind his head.

"Yes. Though we were a little surprised when she showed up at our door at about two this morning." Lady said with her arms over her chest and hip cocked slightly.

"She said she was in the area." Trish added, chuckling as she sat on Dante's desk, one leg crossed over the other. Her tight leather pants and white corset didn't leave much to the imagination.

"In the area? What would she be doing around there?" Dante asked as he openly oogled Trish's curves, earning a glare from Lady.

"No idea. But she wanted to talk." Trish leaned back on her arms, giving Dante a clear line of sight of beautiful cleavage. Dante laughed as he kept his eyes on her face.

"You're gonna have to try better than that if you want to see Lady try and put a massive hole in my handsome face." He snickered, earning a pout from Trish.

"Talk?" Nero asked, the sharpening stone making the metal of his sword sing sharply.

Lady cast a glance at Vergil, who was clearly ignoring everyone in the room. "Yeah, girl talk."

"Man, how come no one talks girl talk with me?" Dante pouted as Trish laughed.

"So many, many reasons."

"So," Dante said, changing the subject and sounding more up beat. "Did you happen to find anything?"

Lady nodded as she pulled out a massive dusty book with a cracked leather cover out of a bag she had set on the floor earlier. "Yeah, but it wasn't easy. The place was crawling with demons and traps."

With a loud thump, she set it down on the desk next to Trish. Dante whistled as he looked it over and let his feet down so he could get a better look. Nero set his sword down and walked over to stand next to Lady.

"Damn, that is one old dusty ass book." Nero said.

Lady rolled her eyes and opened the book about mid way through.

"Angels have a classification system, much like demons. Which isn't surprising since at one time, all demons were angels. However, according to this book here, demons diverged greatly from their roots. Allowing for a deadlier evolution if you will."

Trish sat up and tapped the book with her index finger, "Originally Angels fit into three catagories: archangels, which were warriors; messengers, which helped to guide humans; and watchers, who watched over the world."

"Okay, so where does our little angel fit in?" Dante said as he looked over the ancient gibberish which he had only just started to recognize as angelic script.

"She doesn't." Lady said matter of factly.

"So, what? She's not an angel?" Nero said.

"Oh no, she's an angel alright. She's just not part of any of the three classes." Trish said as she flipped forward a few pages to a beautifully drawn image of the three supposed classes of Angels. The were standing in a circle, holding hands with what appeared to be a massive bright light in the center of the circle.

"She's outside of the original classes, an angel created by others out of necessity. When some of the Angels fell from 'grace' and became demons, their wrath spread throughout the human world like a plague. The first Angelic war was fought then, angel killing demon and vice versa. For every demon that was slaughtered, more rose becoming stronger, sucking up the fallen negative energy like leaches."

Lady nodded, "They created an angel class that could absorb and purify the negative energy. They could transfer the energy back into the world as pure energy or absorb the powers of the demons they fought. Growing stronger."

"Which explains why she can phase through walls when she couldn't before, she absorbed that power." Trish added.

"Uh, okay. So she's a special kind of angel, thing. Why does she rip demons apart then and...eat them?" Nero asked, a nasty look on his face.

Lady flipped a few more pages forward pointing to a single line that no one could read except Trish, "Sacrifice."

"Uhhh." Said Dante, attempting to read the line and failing.

"Like with Nero's arm. Something kicked in, an instinct if you will. She felt Nero's negative energy growing and before he completely lost his humanity, she attacked him. A sacrifice must be made of an equal value to what needs to be purified. In this instance, it was a bite and a little blood. Once the sacrifice was made, she was able to pull that energy into herself and then give it right back, by kissing him." Trish smirked as she finished speaking, catching Nero's cheeks turning a slight red.

The sound of Vergil's sword sharing seemed to get louder for a moment before resuming its normal rhythm.

"There were only a handful of these Angels, called 'Purifiers'. They fought the second Angelic war, but they still were not enough. It wasn't long before every angel was destroyed." Lady closed the book with a loud thump and Dante leaned back in his chair.

"So how did our little angel turn up at the Order of the Sword?" Dante asked thoughtfully.

"Unfortunately, she'd be the only one to tell us that. So until she remembers, we won't know. On the other side of that, she needs to be careful. Purifiers were created with the intention of purifying demon souls, so to speak. Because of that demons are drawn to her, they may not know why, but they'll flock to her like moths to a flame. She's as close as anyone is going to get to the source of creation." Lady said matter of factly.

"So unless it's necessary, she should steer clear of any demon hunts. She may be powerful but she could be easily over taken if there are enough demons." Trish said as Nero frowned, he'd been absently clenching his fist where his Devil Bringer original was.

"So, what? She needs a babysitter?" Dante said with a chuckle.

"Yes." Trish said, "She's the last one of her kind as far as we know."

They all grew quiet, as the information sunk in. The only sound was of the rhythmic sharpening stone on Yamato. The phone rang and Dante hit the end of the receiver, popping it up and grabbing it out of the air.

"Password?" He said as Lady grabbed the book off the desk and slipped it back into the bag.

"Uh, so the church is... Uh huh... Right. We'll be right there." Dante hung up and stood as he made sure Ebony and Ivory were tucked into his holsters.

"Well, looks like our little angel was out performing miracles last night." He said as Nero raised a brow at him.

"Meaning?" Trish asked.

"You know that church? Well, I guess it's as good as new. Like the day they finished building it kind of new."

* * *

"Holy shit..." Dante said as they stood outside St. Anthony's Chruch. It was originally built as a non-denominational church over a hundred years ago, but due to economics and the crime rate, not to mention demons infestation it became abandoned and unkept. It was used periodically for neighborhood events like the haunted house or a homeless shelter during colder months.

Dante, Lady and Nero had made their way to the church while Vergil decided to stay at the shop. Currently, Trish was headed back to their apartment to check on 613. They'd met the police detective that Dante had talked to the night of the attack. The building had been condemned yesterday and now today it looked like a brand new church had sprung up over night. Even the surrounding iron fence looked new and the once dead brown grass was a bright, vibrant green.

"Man..." Nero said as he leaned against the iron fence. "She did this?"

"Impressive." Lady said as she looked over the church. The detective had already left, so the three had been left outside the fence to take in the phenomenon.

"Must have taken a lot of energy to restore this place." Lady continued as she eyed the bright, seemingly glowing stained glass windows.

A cell phone rang and Lady pulled it out of her pocket to answer it.

"Hello?"

Dante poked a small dandelion that had decided to grow out of a crack in the sidewalk in the middle of November.

"We'll be right there." Hanging up she put the phone away as she looked at Nero.

"Looks like our miracle worker won't wake up."


	29. Heaven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for reading, leaving comments and kudos! ^_^ 
> 
> It means a lot to me and honestly, even criticism is welcome! 
> 
> Don't be shy!
> 
> On that note, let's watch Vergil feel heaven first hand.
> 
>   
> *Artwork by Limboolian, a fan of the Tales of Devil May Cry series.*

This was annoying as far as Vergil was concerned.  
  
He did not 'like' the mute...girl...angel...thing.  
  
He did not 'babysit'.  
  
And he certainly couldn't stand watching her sleeping form look so peaceful.  
  
This was the ultimate tease and she wasn't even doing anything.  
  
Nero, Trish, and Dante had left shortly after they brought the girl back to the shop. There was a massive demon attack happening two towns over that needed attention. Lady, on the other hand, found a lead on some more angelic texts, which lead to Vergil on watch duty.  
  
Trish was right when she said the girl wouldn't wake up. As far as anyone could tell, she was fine. She was in an extremely deep sleep, most likely from the energy transfer to the church. He hadn't seen it, mostly because he was trying...and failing to ignore her altogether.  
  
She'd been asleep for two days now.  
  
Which should have made this whole 'watching' business easier.  
  
It didn't.  
  
Currently, she was asleep in her room on the crummy couch. He'd checked on her a few times, which proved be an exercise in futility. He was through checking on her, deciding that if she never woke up then all the problems she brought with her would be solved.  
  
Vergil slammed the book shut that he had been reading in his room with a loud bang. He had re-read the same line, on the same paragraph for the last hour while his thoughts ran rampant. It was annoying, to say the least.  
  
Yet he couldn't bring himself to leave his room and go downstairs away from her. The farthest he managed to get before he felt this growing sense of worry (which was the only word that seemed to explain it), was his bedroom.  
  
Vergil set the book down on the small table next to his chair and stood. This was ridiculous. He needed to do something to calm down and think about something else. Grabbing Yamato, Vergil forced himself to leave his room and enter the door across from the bathroom that led to the third floor.  
  
Deciding that they all needed a place to practice their skills, the third floor was gutted and turned into a kind of makeshift sparing room. Not that Dante ever used it, but Nero did on occasion. Though not lately due to the nuisance downstairs and his...woman.  
  
The room also housed all of the devil arms they had all acquired over the last few years. Some of them were locked up in a safe due to their...ability to go missing and end up in unusual places. It hadn't happened in a while, but it was still a possibility.  
  
Vergil took off his shirt, opting to just wear his pants. He decided against shoes so he could better feel the floor with his bare feet. Drawing his sword, he took a deep breath. Letting his eyes close, he held the sword firmly and found his center. Slowly he began moving through poses.  
  
It was an old exercise his father had taught him when he and Dante where small children. Vergil always tended to have a shorter temper, while his brother seemed lax and at ease about practically everything.  
  
He began to increase his speed, and it wasn't long before all annoying thoughts were gone from his mind and the peaceful sounds of his sword slicing the air started to calm him. Breathing with each trust and slash, Vergil felt his muscles flex and move with ease. This is what he needed; calm, precise, violence.  
  
Finishing a series of swift movements, Vergil stopped and let Yamato down slowly to his side. He felt a little better. He didn't understand why he was so out of control with his emotions, it was like puberty all over again.  
  
The air shifted slightly, it was an old building and there was probably a draft somewhere. Vergil kept his eyes closed, trying to savor the cool, shift of air on his sweaty skin and the calm he had finally found.  
  
Vergil snapped his eyes open as the feel of soft, warm feminine hands trailed down his shoulders, his back and finally down his sides. It took him a moment to keep his face blank, recognizing the smell of her shampoo instantly. Slowly, he turned his head to look over his shoulder as the girl looked up at him with damp hair and bright blue eyes.  
  
"I'm sorry." Her voice was soft and held a sweetness that he had unfortunately come to...  
  
"I didn't mean to startle you." She continued, interrupting his thoughts. Vergil gripped the handle of Yamato a little harder as he stepped away from her silently. The calm he'd worked for was suddenly shattered by a wash of emotion and mixed thoughts.  
  
For instance...  
  
He wanted her to touch him more...  
  
Yet, he wanted to touch her...  
  
And at the same time, he wanted her to get the hell away from him.  
  
Turning to face her, he realized she wasn't in her usual stupid hoodie and jeans, but in a very thin camisole and sleep shorts. They were a matching set of white with blue flowers and he made sure his eyes didn't linger too long on her curves, which was pointless as the burning ache in his groin had started up again.  
  
He swore it was the scent of her shampoo.  
  
Something that smelled like...  
  
"Do you like me?" She asked suddenly. He found himself blinking at her.  
  
When he didn't answer she clarified, "Do you lust after me?"  
  
He didn't know what to say. There was heart pounding annoyance mixed with being called out on the truth he was trying desperately to ignore. When he still didn't answer, she stepped closer to him letting the smell of her shampoo completely fill his senses.  
  
Slowly, she brought her delicate hands up and rested them on his bare chest. The drying sweat didn't seem to bother her and she pressed closer. Stubbornly, he refused to move, but his body was betraying him as he caught a slight hint of cleavage as he looked down at her.  
  
"Your energy is completely balanced between the demon and the human part of yourself. Did you know that?" Her voice was smooth as she leaned closer, letting her hands trail down his chest to his abdomen and around to his sides.  
  
It felt like torture holding back the groan that desperately wanted to leave his lips. He had half a mind to take her right there on the floor. The ache between his legs was growing as she laid her soft lips on the center of his chest, where his heart was trying to hammer out of his chest.  
  
Something shifted in the air again and distantly he realized it was her wings stretching out in all their beautiful feathered glory. He felt a tingling as her energy seemed to push against him, rubbing against him for a moment before it seemed to push through to his core.  
  
He could feel her, inside his soul just as he felt her lips kiss along his chest. Vergil inhaled sharply, trying to keep his composure, but failing as her supple breasts pressed against his chest. He could feel her nipples rub faintly against him as she stood on her tippy toes to kiss his jaw.  
  
Closing his eyes, a deep groan escaped him and he wanted to touch her. He wanted to hear her moan for him and call his name in his sheets like he imagined she would in the late, restless nights he had.  
  
And there were many of them.  
  
No matter how hard he tried, he wasn't able to move his hands to touch her, her energy, invisible though it was, seemed to wrap around him and stroke the inside of his center. It drew another groan from him, this one needier than the last as she whispered to him softly.  
  
"Your energy is intoxicating. The balance that you hold is so fragile, and yet so strong..."  
  
She kissed his neck and he felt like she would undo him, the growing bulge in his pants was straining with want, with desire. He wanted her, needed her to touch him more and yet he couldn't get his damned hands to move.  
  
And then he felt it...  
  
A wave of pleasure brought him moaning loudly as her energy began to mix with his. He felt light, warmth...everything he felt he was denied in a haughty mix of pleasure. He felt her hands caress his lower back as his hips attempted to thrust forward and when he wasn't able to, he half moaned in denied release.  
  
It felt euphoric...his own personal heaven and yet...he wasn't doing anything but standing there.  
  
The wave of pleasure intensified and Vergil began to pant heavily as he opened his eyes, wanting to beg for release. Her eyes locked on his, their blue glowing faintly as she kissed his lips deeply. The moment those soft, sensual lips touched his he felt himself release in his pants.  
  
And he didn't care.  
  
She moaned softly as he felt his energy be pulled out and then pushed back onto him again, creating a cycle of pleasure that in an almost painful way, had him coming again harder than before in moments. The wet, stickiness of his orgasms soaking the cloth of his pants without care.  
  
She teased him with her tongue, letting him enjoy the painful sweetness she caused before pulling his energy again and this time letting some of her own wash back into him. His body jerked as groaned with the feel of her energy becoming part of his and when he thought it was impossible for him to do so again...  
  
"Oh god..." He managed to say as his body jerked again from another orgasm.  
  
It lasted longer than the others and when she finally pulled away—her energy, body and all—he collapsed on the floor in a hot, sweaty, panting mess of himself. She laid down next to him, curling her curvy body against his; a soft arm and leg wrapping around him, almost protectively.  
  
The last thing he remembered before passing out was the soft feel of feathers on his skin.


	30. Unkept

Vergil had been asleep for a while now, about a day or so. After I awoke and took a shower, I had found Vergil practicing his swordsmanship on the third floor. His energy was so calm it called to me and it wasn't long before I found myself there.  
  
Touching him.  
  
Feeling him.  
  
Exploring the innermost parts that he wasn't even aware of.  
  
Trish was right when she said people had sex because it felt good. I wasn't too sure how to perform the act itself, but his masculine energy was calling for release. Almost begging as I let myself feel him. Pulling his energy to taste it felt wonderful and before I could fully stop myself I felt the pull of his want...  
  
His desire...  
  
I finally had a name for what I had been feeling from him...  
  
Lust, want, need, desire...  
  
They were all wrapped up in an intoxicating mix that had me pull his energy harder. I could feel myself get lost in the feeling, and it was almost impossible to see in the bright light that washed back. It was similar to the darkness, but where that was cold and bleak this was soft, warm and...almost love.  
  
When his energy built in that rhythm I'd felt at Lady and Trish's apartment, I knew that he was going to orgasm as Lady explained. The first time he came, the backlash was intense and I felt a tingling between my thighs. I wanted more and his energy echoed my want.  
  
So I brought him again, almost to the point where pain mixed with pleasure that had been so long denied. Why did he deny himself so much? It was like he felt he wasn't deserving.  
  
Before the sadness could creep into his energy, I pushed a wave of desire into him. Letting him savor it for a moment before it backlashed into my center. The moan that escaped my lips felt good and I couldn't seem to stop myself from kissing him deeper. I felt his body strain with another orgasm, the wetness from the front of his pants soaking part of my pajamas.  
  
I hadn't intended for him to collapse, but I felt I needed to stop before it got out of hand. All I wanted was to help him find some inner peace from the torment he seemed to be feeling. If I could help him with that, I would.  
  
Because I liked Vergil...even if he was an ass.

* * *

According to the message left on the answering machine, everyone would be back soon. I'd busied myself with cleaning and grocery shopping as I thought about what I had done. I felt that perhaps I had done something wrong, that when Vergil woke up he would hate me more than ever. If the kiss on the cheek was any indication...I was sure I'd have to move out.  
  
I took a detour by the church and was glad to see it back to its former, beautiful glory. Its energy was warm and light again and it seemed happy. The walk back to the shop didn't take long and I soon found myself cooking dinner for everyone. No doubt they'd be hungry when they arrived.  
  
Despite my growing guilt for what I had done with Vergil, without his permission, I couldn't ignore the fact that I felt good. Probably the best I'd felt in a long time. So good in fact that for the first time in years, I sang as I cooked.

* * *

Dante, Trish, and Nero stood in the large office area and stared at the kitchen door. They'd come back feeling tired, bruised and hungry. The demonic swarm had taken everything they had just to get rid of all of them.  
  
Dante had expected for the girl to still be passed out and his brother pissed off and mopy. Instead, he came back to the shop spotless and practically sparklingly; the smell of fresh hot food drifting through the air, and the girl singing the most beautiful song he'd ever heard...his brother nowhere in sight.  
  
"Uhhh...." Nero said, seemingly echoing both Dante's and Trish's thoughts exactly.  
  
"It feels..." Dante whispered, afraid that if he spoke louder he'd destroy the magic of what was going on.  
  
"Homey..." Trish said, just as softly.  
  
The door to the second floor banged open with murderous intent, startling everyone in the office and yet the girl still sang. Blinking, they stared as Vergil emerged with his white hair a complete mess and sticking up at odd angles. He only wore a pair of black boxers and no socks. No one had ever seen him look so unkept and so...enraged.  
  
Not really understanding what was going on, Dante scratched his chin a little.  
  
"Uh, hey bro."  
  
Vergil stormed down the stairs and didn't look at any of them as he walked to the kitchen, the moment he got close to the door the girl's song faltered. If Vergil had Yamato in his hand, Dante might have been worried...  
  
But now he was just curious as to where this was going.  
  
Vergil opened the door and slammed it shut behind him as the girl stopped singing altogether. There was the sound of clenched angry words from Vergil, followed by a silence that had all of them looking a little nervous. Just as Dante was about to head to the kitchen, a soft moan filtered through the door, sweet and feminine.  
  
"Well, son of a—" Dante said as the door to the kitchen opened back up. Vergil emerged again looking still murderous but more...cocky?  
  
The three watched as a smirk graced the man's lips as he walked by them and back up the stairs, slamming the door behind him again.  
  
"Well," Trish said, surprised, "I think we'll have to have another girl talk..."


	31. Likability

  
Trish and Lady sat on either side of me at their apartment as I tried my best to explain what happened while everyone was gone. After Vergil stormed into the kitchen in his underwear, there were a lot of questions from Dante, Trish, and Nero. I was feeling a little overwhelmed after Vergil...  
  
"He kissed you!?" They said in unison and I bit my lip.  
  
"He said that the next time I was stupid enough to almost have sex with him he'd make sure I'd be the one moaning." I hated to admit it, but as a threat, it was exciting and a little scary. Though that may have been the energy rolling off of him.  
  
"Sweetie, did you mean to do all that?" Trish asked as she took a sip of her iced tea.  
  
I frowned, "Not at first."  
  
Lady snickered, "Yeah, that's how it starts."  
  
Trish rolled her eyes and smiled, "It's okay sweetie. I don't think you did anything wrong per se, but you didn't allow him to move."  
  
"I was afraid he'd try to kill me."  
  
Lady laughed as Trish shot her a quick glare, "He may be an ass but he wouldn't kill you without reason. He would have done so by now if he really thought you were a threat. You're also an incredibly quick healer, I doubt he'd be able to do enough damage to kill you."  
  
"But he can. He has the sword forged from the fire of Hell and folded in the way of the heavens." I blinked as my voice shifted to the old lit it used to have, another memory half remembered surfacing.  
  
Lady and Trish looked at me seriously for a moment. I frowned as I looked at my hands that were holding a cup of hot chocolate. It was becoming my favorite drink.  
  
"I had already been a prisoner for many years by Mundus when Sparda, the Legendary Dark Kight, forged the sword and escaped Mundus's castle. He intended to seal Hell and the demons inside, away from the human world. To protect his wife and two sons."  
  
My words had grown softer as I spoke, as the memories came back. It was so many years ago, but now that I'd remembered them it felt like they happened yesterday.  
  
"Wait, you knew Sparda?" Lady asked, the surprise evident on her face. I nodded once.  
  
"The sword, Yamato, has the ability to kill...Angels." I cringed at the word. I still hated it, but I no longer felt like I'd lose myself to the darkness if I heard it. "It's made from the same metal that my harness was that bound my wings and my powers."  
  
"But the harness didn't kill you," Trish said, looking slightly confused.  
  
"Yes. The form the metal takes has a lot to do with it, as well as the sacred writings written on it. My harness was created to keep me from using any part of my power and my ability to fly. I was bound to Mundus for eternity until he broke me. Once I was under his complete control, he'd be able to use me to gain insurmountable power."  
  
Lady and Trish exchanged a look as their energy hummed faintly with surprise and hate. I smiled softly at Trish, "But it's hard to break one like me."  
  
"613, we found a book on an abandoned island that said you were created by the three classes of Angels." Trish said as she focused her eyes one me, "That you're a 'purifier' of demonic souls and energy."  
  
"That's correct. I'm able to null the energy to its purest form. I can send the energy back out into the world, or I can accept it into myself and gain power. Neither is without its costs. By giving it back, as you've seen, it makes me sleep for a number of days. If I accept it and gain power, I'm in danger of falling to the darkness...becoming a demon. There has to be a sacrifice for everything, an equal balance."  
  
"How many of you were created?"  
  
Lady's question had me thinking, I tried to remember but nothing came to me. From what I had remembered there should have been thousands. I told her as such.  
  
"So you have the ability to choose what you do with the energy?" Trish asked as she took another sip of her tea.  
  
I frowned, I...honestly didn't know. In my heart, I knew that I had a choice, but I didn't know if others did. If they had, would they still have ended up as demons? I honestly didn't know.  
  
"I don't know." I said sadly, "I do believe that I am the last though."  
  
The room grew quiet as the information I just shared started to sink in. However, it seemed that though we had gotten off topic, Lady was still focused.  
  
"So, what are you going to do about Vergil? Are you going to try and talk to him? Or maybe 'put the moves on him' again?"  
  
"Moves?" I blinked as Trish laughed.  
  
"She means your little energy pull you did."  
  
"Oh." I frowned, thinking. "Well, I don't know if it will happen again. I didn't mean to do it the first time. I know he enjoyed it, but I still feel that he doesn't 'like' me, as you say."  
  
Lady laughed and shook her head, "Well, I don't think that's an issue. I think he likes you plenty."

* * *

"I think you like her," Dante announced as he swung his sword forward. Vergil blocked it easily and he growled, he wasn't putting his full effort into sparring. It was becoming apparent that he just wanted to stick his nose where it didn't belong.  
  
Vergil refused to answer as he performed a few quick moves, Dante blocking all of them. Nero was sitting down against the wall, his head phones turned down low so he could hear the conversation.  
  
"I mean, you can't tell me nothing happened while we were gone. I mean bro, you came downstairs in your underwear." Dante continued, trying to keep from laughing.  
  
"True. I've never even seen you without shoes on." Nero added, a smug look on his face. It was clear that he was enjoying giving Vergil a hard time.  
  
"If I tell you something happened, will you two shut up?" Vergil snapped as he stopped sparing. Dante was grinning as he rested his sword on his shoulder.  
  
"So what did happen? Did you jump her bones?" Dante teased as Nero snickered.  
  
Vergil growled and the air became tense. He did not want to admit to anyone that she had him turned practically into a begging mess. He hadn't even been able to touch her and yet, since their...encounter, he felt good. Better than he could ever remember feeling before. He wanted more of that, much, much more. But he wanted to be the one to make her scream in ecstasy and have her coming for him...many, many times.  
  
"Bro?" Dante said as Vergil blinked at his brother. Nero was standing next to Dante now, a stupid grin on his face.  
  
"Oh man...you totally slept with her!" Nero declared, "Look at his face!" He busted up laughing and Vergil narrowed his eyes at the boy. Dante started laughing too and Vergil snapped.  
  
"No, I didn't! She came to me and..."  
  
"Whoa! She seduced you?!" Dante and Nero said in surprise.  
  
"She—" Vergil huffed, attempting to salvage any part of this ridicules conversation that he didn't know why he was having in the first place.  
  
"Did she kiss you?" Nero asked, interrupting him.  
  
"Ye—" Vergil's grip on his sword tightened as Dante interrupted him.  
  
"Holy shit! Did she...?" His brother trailed off, wiggling his eyebrows.  
  
"Well—" Vergil growled as he was interrupted again.  
  
"Man! Why you? You don't even like her! Should have been Dante, at least he'd be able to—"  
  
Nero wasn't able to finish his sentence as Vergil suddenly Devil Triggered and picked him up by his shirt. In the next instance, Nero was slammed into the nearest wall as Vergil roared violently in Nero's pained, startled face.  
  
"SHE'S MINE!"  
  
"Well," Dante said calmly, earning a nasty look from Nero and drawing the demonic form of his brother's attention to him, "Sounds like you do like her. A lot."  
  
Vergil dropped Nero on the floor as he coughed and sputtered. A moment later Vergil was back to his normal form and stomping out of the third floor. Dante grinned at Nero's pissed off face.  
  
"Man, I'd have paid good money to get that confession on tape. Good going getting him to do it." Dante said as he walked over to help Nero up.  
  
"Shut it old man." Nero half coughed, half sputtered.  
  
Dante grinned wider and padded him hard on the back. Nero rolled his eyes and stepped away, trying to get his breath back of his own accord. "So what now?"  
  
"I don't know about you, but I want to see more of Vergil losing his mind over a girl." Dante chuckled, "It'd probably do him some good."


	32. Avoidance

A couple of weeks had passed since Vergil and I's...'almost sex' as he put it. I'd done my best to stay away from him and keep to myself. Which was hard as I could constantly feel his energy. During the day it was okay, I could focus on other things. But at night, his energy seemed to intensify. It wasn't just because his room was across from mine either. In the late hours of the night, I could feel the tingling of his energy as it found that sweet rhythm I'd learned was an orgasm. It would ebb and flow, calling to me with its intensity and I found myself many nights, pressed to my door as hard as I could. Anything to get closer to that carefully balanced energy as he orgasmed.  
  
I had no idea how he was doing it either.  
  
It took a lot of energy to not go to him and taste his energy with my own. Almost every time by the time his energy peaked, I found myself panting with want and my underwear soaked through. I didn’t completely understand what my body was trying to accomplish by this and it grew annoying.  
  
Vergil had decided to ignore me completely again. Which…hurt. I wasn’t even sure why it hurt, as he was acting exactly how I thought he would after the encounter. If it wasn’t for the nightly increase of his energy as he found release, I’d probably think that he hated me more now. He wouldn’t even look at me or be in the same room as me. While that made avoiding him easier, it made my chest ache.  
  
I found that I didn’t really want to talk about it with Lady and Trish, though they were kind and considerate, it was easy to tell they felt bad for me. I assured them the best that I could that I was fine. But even I didn’t completely buy my own lie. I had thought after he stormed into the kitchen and kissed me so deeply, his energy zinging along my skin, we would have moved passed the silent treatment.  
  
But no, that was not the case.  
  
Dante had taken to ignoring his brother, for the most part, something I didn’t really understand. There was a tension in the air whenever they were in the same room together and if I was present, it was worse. I had mostly decided to stay in my room or in the kitchen, as no one really was ever in either place except me. I cleaned the rest of the shop when everyone was away so as to limit the time I’d possibly run into Vergil.  
  
It was boring.  
  
I had re-read the books Kyrie had given me so many times, I found myself reciting them in my head.  
  
Maybe it would be easier if I moved out.  
  
I didn’t want to intrude on Lady and Trish.  
  
I would have contacted Kyrie about coming back and staying with her, but Nero was visiting her on a regular basis now and I didn’t want to get between them either.  
  
It was when I was baking a small batch of peanut butter cookies that Dante walked into the kitchen with a big smile on his face.  
  
“Whacha doin’?” He asked as he leaned over the hot tray of cookies I’d just pulled from the oven. The kitchen smelled good, warm and comforting.  
  
“Cookies,” I said simply, carefully removing the baked goods with a spatula and setting them on a rack to cool.  
  
“Speaking of awesome food and your kick-ass cooking skills, Thanksgiving is coming up.” He bounced on the balls of his feet, careful not to bump my arms.  
  
I blinked at him as I tilted my head, “Thanksgiving?”  
  
“Oh man! I forgot you don’t know anything about Thanksgiving, do you?! Well, it’s where you make a whole bunch of food and then everyone sits around and eats it. It’s to say thank you for all the awesome things we’ve all done this year.”  
  
He was speaking way too fast and his energy hummed with excitement. There was a hint of intent that I had come to recognize as Dante scheming to do something. It actually happened more times than anyone really knew about. He came across as a lax, goof off, but he was highly intelligent and there was a reason for everything he did.  
  
Much like Vergil.  
  
Trying to stay focused on the conversation I raised a brow at him, “What’s the catch?”  
  
“Catch?” His face turning innocent, “There’s no catch! You’d be in charge of cooking the dinner and the rest of us can decorate or do whatever you need. Like prepping food or grocery shopping.”  
  
I still wasn’t buying it. The intent of being up to no good was increasing and it was starting to hum, taking over the excitement. I had a feeling that regardless of my participation in making this ‘Thanksgiving’ dinner thing that I’d still be involved one way or another.  
  
“Fine,” I said after a moment. Dante grinned and patted my shoulder a little harder than necessary, making me almost bump into the counter.  
  
“Sorry.” He said, laughing a little. “I’m going to go call Trish. It’s been a long time since we actually celebrated Thanksgiving.”  
  
Dante left the kitchen as quickly as he came, leaving me to think about what was made at a Thanksgiving dinner. Maybe I could find a book on it somewhere downtown, or even at the grocery store. I’d gotten all kinds of recipes from the books there, not that I was able to buy any of them. But I was able to memorize quite a few of them to try.  
  
I hadn’t told anyone, but Vergil secretly liked my stuffed chicken with pesto. Every time I made it, his energy seemed to glow with happiness. It was the only time I was able to stay in the same room with him for longer than a few minutes.  
  
Maybe Thanksgiving would be the perfect time to announce I was leaving?  
  
I didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye…


	33. Mercy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Aratoamin, since you had such a great idea for a name for her. This chapter is just for you. I hope you're recovering well from your surgery and that this chapter makes you smile.

Thanksgiving seemed like a lot of work.  
  
There were things that were traditional that I'd never made or even heard of. Like cranberry sauce and candied yams. The turkey seemed straightforward, but I wasn't clear on what 'stuffing' or 'dressing' was.  
  
I'd made my way down to the grocery store with Vergil as my company. They had all decided that I needed to have someone with me in case something happened again. Unfortunately, that meant that I was stuck with whoever was free.  
  
Today that was Vergil...  
  
We both ignored each other, which was harder for me because I could still feel his energy. It was on edge and conflicted, which wasn't helping me focus on picking out recipes from one of the cookbooks. Since we were out in public, he had dressed more casual. A black leather coat with black pants and a navy blue shirt. I honestly didn't know he had such relaxed clothing. He looked really good in it too, which I would have told him so...  
  
But I felt nervous. He even made sure Yamato was not as noticeable by strapping it to his back under his coat.  
  
Leaning up against the side wall and next to the shelves of books I was looking through, Vergil kept his eyes on our surroundings. You could find just anything at this grocery store, which was why I liked it. Trying to focus on the thick book of recipes in my hands, I tried my best to ignore his mixed emotions.  
  
I bit my lip slightly as I read some of the ingredients for candied yams. Why anyone would put that much sugar and marshmallows onto a potato was strange. There was no way it would taste good.  
  
"Why don't you just buy the book so we can leave?" Vergil's voice was low with an edge to it.  
  
I huffed as I turned the page a little more forcefully than I intended to, "Because I don't have any money. Now shush while I try to memorize this."  
  
My tone was just as biting as his, mostly because his energy was intense and I felt hurt by his attitude. I still couldn't explain why it bothered me, but for some reason I wanted him to talk nicer to me. My hand trembled slightly as I gripped the book a little harder. Trish was right...men were stupid.  
  
Suddenly the book was pulled out of my hands, startling me. "Hey..." I said, irritated.  
  
Blinking, I realized how close Vergil was standing to me and I backed up a little. It didn't matter because he took a step forward, keeping the distance the same. I felt like he was purposely invading my space. Narrowing my eyes, I made myself hold my ground as we stared at each other.  
  
"What's your name?"  
  
"What?" I asked, confused by his question that came out of nowhere.  
  
"I asked, what your name was." A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth and I found myself staring at his lips. Realizing what I was doing, I looked back up into his eyes and crossed my arms. My wings shifted under my white hoodie with irritation as I glared at him.  
  
"I don't have one. Just call me 613." I reached for the book, but he slipped it behind him as he took another step forward. Startled, I stepped back again and frowned at him. His smirk became bigger.  
  
"I'm not going to call you by a series of numbers that don't mean anything." His voice was low as he spoke. His energy seemed to hum as he stepped forward again and I backed up once more in turn.  
  
"Fine then, call me whatever you want. Just stop being an ass." I was getting upset and angry. I had no idea what he was doing or why and I felt like I was trapped. It felt like sensory overload as he kept pressing forward until my wings touched a wall behind me.  
  
His smirk faded until his face was blank, his cold eyes staring into mine. His energy shifted to the familiar lustful intent and I swallowed in an attempt to keep myself still. What was he doing?  
  
He leaned in closer, his face inches from mine. I could have kissed him, he was so close. I started to pant slightly from the feel of him so close. The masculine scent I'd come to recognize as his, making my wings tense and my stomach tighten.  
  
In the next breath, he stood straight again, the smirk was back but more knowing than it had been before.  
  
"Fine. Then I'll call you Mercy."  
  
I blinked at him, my brain trying to make the switch from the sexual energy to his words. "Mercy?"  
  
He didn't say anything as he turned and walked away. Realizing he was leaving, I quickly followed trying to get a grip on myself and what was going on. I felt confused and excited...in a good way.  
  
Vergil went to the checkout and paid for the book without speaking to anyone. When I tried to protest, he simply handed me the book and pocketed the change. I stared at the book for a moment and then at Vergil.  
  
He...bought me a cookbook?  
  
"You bought this for me?" I asked quietly.  
  
He watched me for a moment and then the most amazing thing happened.  
  
He smiled.  
  
It was small but genuine. It lit up his eyes and softened the sharp features of his face. His cold eyes were still cold, but not in a hateful way. But in the way that snow was cold and beautiful...  
  
I smiled back as I hugged the book to my chest. "Thank you."


	34. Nightmare

The figure of a man towered over me. He looked like a strong beautiful man with long hair and piercing eyes, but I knew better. I could see the dark demonic energy coming off of him in waves. He'd fallen so far that the darkness had swallowed any light he might have had.  
  
Mundus...  
  
"Hello, my Angel." He said. His voice was sweet like honey and soft like satin. I hated it when he called me Angel. I hated him so much.  
  
I was his trophy.  
  
I said nothing, words would not help me now. Even after years of abusing and torment, or beatings and savagery; my words would fall on deaf ears. It was better to not talk.  
  
"Oh come now. Won't you sing for me?  
  
I stared at the floor, the hardness that bound my wings and my powers chained to a wall so I could not escape. Sitting on my knees, I made sure my back was straight and my hands rested just so on my thighs. When he spoke to me, he wanted me passive. If I didn't do what he wanted, I'd be punished.  
  
He liked that. He liked to punish me. Sometimes the punishments lasted years.  
  
He squatted down, the dark king that he was, forcing my head to face him so he could look me in the eye.  
  
"I want you to sing for me."  
  
I held back my glare, but only just. I'd learned a long time ago that my face should give away nothing of my feelings. He'd just use them against me.  
  
I opened my mouth and started to sing.  
  
 _I am the light,_  
 _I am the dark,_  
 _I am the one who has the sight._  
  
 _I'll bring you peace,_  
 _I'll bring you hope,_  
 _I'll be there when the world has ceased._  
  
 _Let me hold you,_  
 _Let me see you,_  
 _Let me be the one to heal you—_.  
  
Mundus sneered as he suddenly gripped my throat, cutting off my air. I tried to claw at his hand, but it was useless. With my powers bound, I wasn't able to do anything. Trying to gasp for breath, he pulled me close to his face. He kissed my forehead as he peered into my eyes.  
  
"Now, now my Angel...let's not be foolish. The only one who needs to be healed is you. You have a sickness that needs to be cured. That light you stubbornly hold onto is only holding you back."  
  
He eased his hold slightly, allowing me to get one small breath to keep from blacking out. It wasn't nearly enough, but he didn't care.  
  
"It's been years and you still haven't broken. So I'm going to get creative." He let go of me then, letting me collapse on the floor as I gasped and sputtered for air. Standing he turned and walked to a chair he kept in my cell so he could sit and watch my punishments.  
  
The sound of heavy boots on stone brought my attention to the barred door of my cell. As it swung inward, I caught the amused look on Mundus's face.  
  
"Ahh, Vergil...you've come."

* * *

I woke up on the roof.  
  
It was still dark and it was cold, making my sweat soaked skin shiver as I wrapped my arms around my knees.  
  
The nightmares were getting worse. I kept remembering things I didn't want to. A millennium of pain and torture and now Vergil. I had known Vergil before I came here. But how? Why?  
  
Did he torture me? What had Mundus commanded him to do?  
  
My wings shifted as I pulled them closer to my body. I was only wearing a tank top and some sleep shorts and my wings helped to stave off the cold as I sat there. If he had tortured me, I didn't want to know about it.  
  
He had been kinder the last few days. Speaking to me on occasion, even helping me with ideas for the upcoming Thanksgiving dinner. It was...nice. He had been nice. I didn't want this new image of him to be tarnished by past history.  
  
But what if I fell asleep again and that's exactly what happened? What if I dreamed about him hurting me? Why did that scare me so much?  
  
The soft sound of boots on the roof had me looking behind me. Blinking back red, bloody tears I stared as Vergil stopped walking as I looked at him. He was wearing sleep pants and a regular shirt, his boots slipped onto his feet to apparently come outside.  
  
"Mercy?"  
  
His hair was matted from sleeping and his sharp jaw was set in a worried line that I was sure he hadn't realized. I'd never told anyone, but when he forgot to hide his emotions on his face...he was beautiful.  
  
I didn't remember moving, but in the next instant, I was in front of him. I wrapped my arms around him as I buried my red, tear-stained face into his chest. He was so warm, even though his chest was hard muscle it was still comforting. I sobbed into him, unable to hold back how scared I had been.  
  
He stiffened at first, but he quickly relaxed as his arms slipped around me, sliding carefully under my wings to hold me closer. His large hands slowly rubbed my back as I cried.  
  
I knew somewhere inside my mind, in the horrible jumbled mess that it was, that I needed to leave. That that was what was best for everyone and yet, I didn't want to.  
  
I wanted to stay with Nero, Dante, Lady, Trish and...  
  
"Vergil..." I whispered between my soft sobs.  
  
He shifted slightly, one hand slipping from my back to my cheek as he wiped away a bloody tear. I opened my eyes to look at him as his eyes met mine. His energy felt calm and yet I could hear his heart beating wildly as he slowly leaned down and kissed me.  
  
It was soft, tentative like he wasn't sure if he should kiss me or not. The feel of his lips was delicate and a moment later I felt his desire come rushing to the surface as I kissed him back. The lustfulness hit me hard and it made me tremble with want, forcing a soft moan from my lips.  
  
His energy seemed to shift as he kissed me deeper, his tongue teasing me and making my chest ache. I wanted him. I wanted him to want me. I wanted to be special to him. I wanted him...  
  
To love me...


	35. Familiarity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the kudos and the comments! ^_^
> 
> It's much appreciated.
> 
> Sorry if this is getting long for some of you, but I promise I am actually going somewhere with this. It's just taken me a lot longer. Thanks for sticking with me!

Vergil was desperately trying to keep himself under control. He found that once he started to kiss her, he just couldn’t seem to stop. There was something about her lips, the way that she kissed him; something about her that was familiar and yet a complete mystery. He could almost feel her desire for him in the way she gripped his shirt, how she pressed into his body. She trembled against him as he kissed her deeper, wanting to savor the flavor of her tongue against his and it drove him mad with want.  
  
God, did he want her…  
  
Over the last few days, he had slowly realized that he did like her, maybe a little too much. During that epiphany, he also realized that somewhere in the back of his mind, he’d been waiting for her. Waiting for her to appear to him again so he could taste those sweet luscious lips and their promises of happiness again.  
  
Again…  
  
That word kept popping up in his mind. Like he had done this before with her. As if he knew her body and how it felt. But he had never touched her in such a way, in fact, his hands caressing her soft face and her slender back was the first time he remembered doing so. And yet…his hands knew to caress her slowly, to tease her lips just right to get her to moan in that sweet pitch he’d missed for so long…  
  
It was strong, this pull towards her and before he could think twice about why or what he was doing, he let the feeling of familiarity wash over him as he ran his hands along her body. His let his hand cup her supple breast as his thumb teased her already hard nipple through her thin tank top, causing her to arch her back and nibble his lip with need.  
  
Oh yes, she was perfect. His own little piece of heaven in physical form, his own personal savior that without even touching him could undo his whole world.  
  
Her wings fluttered as she stood on her toes to wrap her arms around his neck. Without words, he cupped her curvy ass and pulled her up to wrap those thick thighs around his waist. She moaned as he gave her a good squeeze and Vergil felt the growing familiar ache between his legs that begged for release. He’d had to take care of himself more nights than he could have possibly counted in his entire life. And it just wasn’t the same. It wasn’t her.  
  
He needed her.  
  
She was kind, compassionate, curious, a warrior…his Mercy.  
  
He liked the sound of that.  
  
His Mercy.  
  
She ran her delicate fingers through his messy hair, which sent a thrill of excitement down his back and making him groan heartily into their kiss. He felt her energy spike as he did, it soaking into him and pushing towards the center of his soul. He shuddered as she pulled on his energy, bringing a wave of pleasure surging through his body and making him grip her back and ass harder with his hands. He couldn’t stop the deep moan that echoed hers as his hardness strained against his sleep pants, rubbing almost cruelly.  
  
She gasped as the thin material did nothing to hide his hard, throbbing bulge as he moved his hips slightly to rub the soft hidden mound of her shorts. He wasn’t sure if the wetness he felt was his own or hers soaking through her shorts. She wrapped her legs harder around his waist, letting her body rub against him and making his ache throb harder.  
  
He growled as he broke their kiss, both of them panting. Her face had flushed a beautiful pink and a moment later he found himself kissing along her exposed collarbone. Her wings trembled as he found a sensitive spot and she moaned into his ear.  
  
He could never get tired of that sound.  
  
The loud slam of the roof door had them both jump and she pulled away from him, almost painfully. He didn’t want to let her go and all that sexual energy shifted to annoyance and irritation. Turning, he looked towards the door to see Dante in nothing but his boxers and a pair of blue bunny slippers, one of which was missing an ear and the other missing a button eye.  
  
“Dante…” Vergil said rather roughly, his voice deep with the pent-up sexual frustration at being interrupted.  
  
Dante yawned and ran his hand through his hair, “Bro, it’s late man, do you have to make that much noise on the roof?”  
  
Vergil stared at Dante for a moment, trying to contemplate if killing his twin was indeed the best course of action. Before he could make up his mind though, Dante spoke again.  
  
“Seriously, hanging out on the roof by yourself at three in the morning basically gives off a creepy vibe you know.” Dante yawned again.  
  
Vergil blinked as he looked around, Mercy was gone.  
  
Damn her phasing ability…  
  
Vergil couldn’t stop the growl that eased out and Dante put his hands up in surrender, “Whatever man, you want to hang out on the roof like a creepy old man, that’s your business. Night…” With that Dante turned and opened the roof door, disappearing out of sight as it slammed shut.  
  
Vergil rubbed his face and messy hair rapidly, attempting to burn off some of the irritation and frustration he was feeling. Why the hell did she leave? She must have gotten scared or startled. He’d have to teach her a lesson about running away from him.  
  
But first, he’d need to think clearly in order to come up with the appropriate plan. Which meant he was going to have to walk down the stairs and get back to his room and ‘take care of business’.  
  
Vergil let out a huff of hot air…  
  
“Damnit…”


	36. Fear

I was scared.  
  
But I didn’t understand why.  
  
I thought I had grown past fear a long time ago. It had been so long since I had felt the feeling that it took me a while to realize it was fear.  
  
I didn’t understand what I was afraid of either. But I knew it had to do with Vergil. I didn’t feel that he’d hurt me, but I felt like I would hurt him. That I would hurt him severely if I continued to stay. The feeling was so strong, I sat in the far corner of my room as my body trembled from the sexual desire between us and the knowledge that I knew him before.  
  
Something had happened, I knew that. I knew that I didn’t want to remember it either. Something in my bones told me that to remember was to cause pain. I didn’t want Vergil to hurt, I didn’t want him to hate me again either. So many conflicting emotions ran through my mind that it was difficult to keep my thoughts in line. They jumped from question to question, to scenario to scenario and before I realized it. Morning light started to shine through the window of my bedroom. The light casted long rays of sunlight and warmth through the bare room. The dust in the air seemed to glow as it shifted on invisible air currents.  
  
I was going to have to leave.  
  
Soon.

* * *

I started cooking the night before Thanksgiving, starting the turkey and cooking it on low in the oven. I had finally decided how I was going to make the ‘stuffing’ or ‘dressing’ as some people called it, and made sure I made enough to both stuff the turkey and have a large tray of it on the side. I peeled potatoes and set them aside for the next day. I made the cranberry sauce from scratch and kept the chunks of bitter berries down to a minimum. The result was a delicious, semi-sweet red sauce that was beautiful to look at.   
  
The rolls, green bean casserole, and candied yams were all prepped ahead of time so all I had to do in the morning was boil the potatoes and bake off the rest of the food. It was a good thing Kyrie had taught me how to cook large amounts of food so everything would be ready at the same time. I was really grateful to her.  
  
Honestly, I was grateful to everyone.  
  
I decided to stay in the kitchen and baste the turkey about every hour or so. I didn't want to fall asleep again and it worked out in my favor as Dante and Vergil were out with Lady and Trish for a demon hunt. Nero, he opted to stay here with me as Kyrie was coming to visit for the holiday. She was supposed to be here in a couple of hours. Both Nero and I were looking forward to seeing her.  
  
Just as I finished the final touches on an apple pie I was going to bake tomorrow, Nero came into the kitchen. Fresh out of the shower, his hair was a little wet and still dripping. He wore a nice new black polo and a dark grey vest with a hood, which kind of reminded me of a sleeveless hoodie. It looked good on him and I smiled as he rolled his eyes.  
  
He might have been acting 'like a punk' as Dante would say, but Nero used that to hide his emotions. Much like Vergil did with his coldness. It was a shield to protect the soft parts of their hearts. Nero's energy was nervous and light, vibrating slightly as he opened the fridge.  
  
"Wow 613, you really made a lot of food. I don't think I've ever seen so much food in this fridge before."  
  
"Mercy," I said as I slipped by him to place the pie in the one small space left in the fridge.  
  
"Mercy?" Nero said as he blinked at me.  
  
I smiled, "You can call me Mercy."  
  
Nero was quiet for a moment, "So you picked a name?"  
  
I smiled, "Not exactly."  
  
I walked away from him and started washing some dishes that I had set in the sink to soak. Nero decided to grab a glass and pour himself a glass of milk and sit down at the table. The steady sound of water running filled the kitchen as we occupied the small space. It was cozy, a warm and homey feeling.  
  
I wished the feeling would always stay with me after I left this place. I didn't want to forget it.  
  
As I finished the dishes and began to dry them, Nero spoke up breaking the comfortable silence.  
  
"I uh...never did thank you." His voice was low and I turned to face him, a pot in my hands.  
  
He looked uncomfortable, his energy echoing his face. He was so young. When I had first met him, I thought perhaps we were the same age. That was before I remembered myself though. Now when I looked at him, I felt almost maternal.  
  
"Thank you," he said, "for this." He held up his arm that had once been his Devil Bringer.  
  
I had almost forgotten that I hadn't told him it wasn't gone. It was just hidden again. I sighed softly as I set the pot down and took a seat across from him. He watched me as I studied his face. It was strange, in the right kind of light, he looked a lot like Vergil.  
  
"Nero, it's not gone," I said softly.  
  
He stared at me for a moment and let out a huff as he crossed his arms. His mannerisms screamed sarcasm, but his energy felt panicked, afraid even.  
  
"Nero, you were in danger of losing yourself to the darkness. If that happens, you'd become full demon unable to stay in your human form. I don't know how long you had that demon arm, but it emerged when you drew on your demonic power. You drew on the darkness, asking for more power."  
  
Nero focused his sight on a spot on the floor, refusing to look at me.  
  
"It doesn't really matter how it happened, but it's important for you to understand that the power inside you holds light too. You are part demon, but also something else." I smiled gently at him as his energy fluxed with emotion. So many emotions.  
  
"When you need it, it will be there again. I balanced your energy between your two halves. It's a delicate balance and you'll be fighting to maintain it, but it will make you stronger in the end."  
  
I reached across the table to touch his arm that he had rested there while I was talking. It was clear that he didn't want to hear what I had to say, but he needed to know that he had the ability to choose and the ability to maintain.  
  
"Nero..."  
  
The moment I touched his arm, something in my mind expanded and I felt his energy wash over me in that intoxicating careful balance that Vergil had. But it wasn't at the same time. It almost felt like an echo of mine. But how could that be? Why would he feel like...  
  
The last thing I remembered before I fell from my chair was pain...


	37. Sealed

"I...I can't." I whispered. My body had become completely enveloped in the pearl, white armor granted by divinity. My wings were still painfully bound by the harness but I was able to feed off the dark energy due to Mundus allowing it to be so.  
  
"You have no choice. Again." Mundus said firmly from his seat in the corner of my cell.  
  
"I can't...I'll kill him," I whispered again, my claws and face were soaked in blood. It wasn't black and sticky like a demon's, but bright red...like a human.  
  
"What makes you think that's not the point?"  
  
"I can't."  
  
Vergil laid collapsed and naked on the floor of my cell. Mundus, after etching more angelic script on my harness commanded me to attack Vergil. He commanded me to drain his energy and give it to him. But I...couldn't. He wasn't a full demon, only half. He was half human. He had darkness inside him, yes, but it wasn't full. His humanity still remained intact, mostly due to his pride and anger. He may have been under Mundus's control, but deep down under that control, was a part of himself he kept hidden. A part that no one could touch but me.  
  
"I need his energy so I can absorb his ability to use Yamato. That cursed sword is in the human realm and the only way to open the Hell Gate is to get the sword. That sword is the key. And I will get that key and your obedience, both." Mundus slowly stood as I kneeled. I was afraid, but not of him...I was afraid for this half human, half demon... I was afraid for Vergil.  
  
Mundus towered over me and I felt his dark, sickening energy seep out and touch mine. It hurt, like small cuts along the inside of my skin and I found myself holding back a scream of pain. It cut deep and I felt more than saw the blood push out of the small slits in my armor.  
  
Grabbing a hand full of my hair, he brought my face up to his handsome prince like one, kissing my cheek with full lips. It made me want to rip his face off and eat it.  
  
"I'm going to leave him here, the worthless abomination that he is. You're going to drain him, my Angel. And you're going to give me his power...I want the power of Sparda." His voice whispered sweetly and I found myself staring at the dust and blood covered floor.

* * *

"What the hell happened?" Dante said to Nero in a hushed, agitated tone while Kyrie sat on the couch in the office, with the girl's head on her lap.  
  
"I don't know! Everything was fine, we were talking and then she touched my arm... She had some kind of...seizure." Nero looked over towards Mercy and Kyrie, a worried expression on his face. Dante watched the young man for a moment as the sound of the front door opened and Vergil walked in with Lady and Trish behind him.  
  
The trio stopped and Dante kept his face casual as Vergil hesitated for a moment at the sight of the girl being taken care of by Kyrie. If he didn't know any better he would say that his brother had feelings for her. But even for Dante, sometimes he wasn't sure what was cooking in that brain of his.  
  
"What happened?" Trish said, coming quickly to Kyrie's side.  
  
"I don't know. Nero said she touched him and had some kind of seizure." Kyrie continued to gently pet the girl's hair as her head rested in her lap.  
  
"613? Can you hear me?" Trish said as she kneeled down next to the couch to speak close to the girl's ear. Lady came up to stand next to her as she did so.  
  
Dante watched the scene, however, it hadn't escaped his notice that Vergil stiffened slightly as he stood there. Something was bothering him, but again it was hard to know if it was because of deeper emotions or because of something else. Dante was betting on the former.  
  
"Mercy." Vergil ground out between clenched teeth.  
  
Nero looked at him and blinked, "Yeah, she said to call her Mercy."  
  
Everyone looked at Nero and then Vergil, who ignored their surprised looks and checked his sword, once he was satisfied he walked over Mercy and looked at her for a moment. His eyes seemed to settle on her face and then without a word, he picked her up in his arms. Careful of her wings, he held her close to his chest in a princess carry and walked away. A second later the loud bang of the second story door shutting had Dante sighing.  
  
"Ahh man, I wanted to be the one to name her." He said rather childishly. However, he was beginning to suspect his notion was right that his brother was falling...if not extremely slowly, in love with their newest live in.

* * *

I felt like my skin was on fire.  
  
A holy fire that burned and yet, felt so good I thought I would burst and become part of those holy flames.  
  
Vergil's warm hands teased along my skin as he plunged himself deep into me. I could feel every inch of him and yet, it never hurt. He would never hurt me.  
  
I moaned as his lips found my neck, sucking and nibbling tentatively. His touch was so soft, so....gentle. And it wasn't long before that sweet wave of pleasure washed over our naked bodies. Both of us coming with each other like beautiful music.  
  
I lost track of time.  
  
I couldn't remember how long he'd been in this cell with me. And though every day Mundus came and commanded me to drain is life, I couldn't. Instead, I fed it. I gave him my energy, my life force so he could find the willpower to break Mundus's hold on him. He was not for this world, he did not belong here and I prayed that he would escape back to the human world and protect it from Mundus and his wretched plans.  
  
It wasn't long before the energy transference granted him the ability to be himself. It took a lot of effort to reinforce it on my part. But I cared for him...loved him...  
  
I loved him so deeply that I allowed myself...to forget I was a prisoner. A trophy.  
  
Vergil said he wouldn't leave me, but I knew there was to be no peace for me. My fate was here. Forever. So I did the only thing I could in order to protect my love...  
  
I sealed his memories of me while we made love for the last time. I hide them away in the part of himself that he managed to hide from Mundus. Afterwards, he left. Like I was nothing to him.  
  
It hurt.  
  
It hurt deeper than any pain I'd known. But I had hope that his brother would find the sword and go in search of his brother. Vergil needed him. He needed his family.  
  
Mundus was furious. He punished me by increasing the restrictions of my powers more than before to the point where evening thinking about them caused unbelievable pain. Shortly after my belly grew with the most precious of gifts.  
  
A child.  
  
Vergil's...child.  
  
I wept for I knew that my baby, my son, who was innocent and pure. Created from love, would die by the hand of Mundus. He allowed the baby to grow, allowed me to give birth to him in my cell alone and screaming in pain.  
  
The moment he took his first breath and cried, Mundus was there.  
  
I never got to hold my son...  
  
My precious baby boy, born from the light and darkness, perfect in his white locks and blue eyes. So beautiful and so like his father...  
  
The pain was too great. I lay alone and bleeding holding the after birth of my precious baby, the last part of Vergil that I had. Gone now.  
  
Time passed differently in Hell than in the human realm. For all I knew, Vergil had already been dead a millennium.  
  
So I did the only thing I could.  
  
I forgot.  
  
I took all those memories of Vergil, our love, our son whom he would never know....my grief and my pain—and I locked it away from myself so I wouldn't be driven mad from the darkness that had started to grow in my heart.


	38. Remembering

"Mercy..."  
  
Someone was calling my name.  
  
"Mercy..."  
  
That voice, it was...  
  
"Vergil?" I whispered as I opened my eyes. Vergil sat on the edge of his bed looking down at me. His fingers carefully caressing my face as he kept his face cold and neutral. The moment I said his name though, his energy spiked and I felt his relief wash over me.  
  
Before I could stop myself, I lunged forward and wrapped my arms around his neck. Breathing in his so familiar masculine scent deep into my lungs. I missed him so much. I loved him even more and it both made my heart ache and rejoice.  
  
Vergil embraced me just as strongly with his muscular figure. He nuzzled my hair, as I took a shaky breath. I could feel the relief mixed in with his twisted emotions. I could feel the memories of us trying to come through. Distant echoes of pain...and they would cause him pain.  
  
I pulled back just enough to hold his face in my hands. He was just as handsome as I remembered, just as proud looking and yet...there was a softness hidden in those blue eyes. I wanted him to remember me, but I didn't at the same time. I was afraid...afraid he wouldn't love me anymore. Afraid he would scorn me for not being able to protect our son.  
  
Vergil's lips found mine in a tentative kiss that grew to something fiercer and hungrier. I felt my body react instinctively, feeling his lust and his desire in waves. I moaned as his tongue slid into my mouth to tease me. I loved it when he did that. Tease me until I wanted to beg for it.  
  
I suckled his tongue and bit his lip, earning me a haughty growl and heavy wave of want. Vergil ran his hands under my hoodie, caressing the bare skin he found there. His large hand followed all the way up to caress my bare breast and tease my hard nipple. I felt my wings flutter as my back arched. Something about the way he touched me made my body ache for him. The wetness between my legs had soaked my simple underwear. I couldn't bear it anymore.  
  
There had been too many nights, too many days; of pain and blood. His touch felt like salvation and I felt the hidden away love humming from his fingers as he touched me.  
  
"I need you..." I whispered as our kiss broke, both of us panting. In what was only a few mere seconds, Vergil had my hoodie off and the rest of my clothing. I had shredded his shirt, buttons flying in the wake of my urgency. He groaned as I kissed his hard bare chest, letting my hands feel along and tug the button on his pants.  
  
He was so aroused, so in need of me to kiss him, hold him...touch him. Even though the memory of me was hidden, he still remembered with his body. I lifted my wings and with a hard push, I shoved him off the bed and to the nearest wall. The startled grunt he let out shifted quickly to a deep groan as I tugged his pants down to expose his aching hardness. I teased the tip of him with my hand as his arms laced around me to squeeze and caress. His body seemed to vibrate in anticipation.  
  
I climbed up to wrap my legs around his waist and let his hardness slide against my wet folds. I moaned, him echoing me as we kissed deeply, my arms around his neck. My wings fluttered as his energy seemed to push against mine and as soon as I wrapped mine around him and pulled, he thrust into me.

* * *

Vergil growled in haughty victory as a pleasure filled cry escaped her lips. He plunged into her sweet wet folds as the soft dove-like feathers of her wings tickled his arms. This was what he wanted, what he needed...  
  
He suckled her neck and found the sweet spot he knew was there, nibbling as thrust into her again and again. Deeper, needier but never causing her pain. He would never hurt her...  
  
She pulled on his energy allowing her pleasure to mix with his, making him pant harder as he gripped her tighter. He wanted her beneath him, not to dominate, but to see her beautiful face as she moaned. He wanted to remember her this way...  
  
Vergil shoved off from against the wall she had him pinned to, and without breaking their connection, he laid her down on the bed. Her wings extended outward and he felt himself pause at her beauty. He'd tried his best to ignore it before, but with her beneath him and moaning for him...it felt so familiar.  
  
She laced her fingers in his hair, his Mercy, so precious. He found himself thrusting into her again, kissing the top of her breasts as her hands gripped his hair. Oh yes, he wanted to hear her more, have her scream for him in ecstasy.  
  
It didn't take long...  
  
He felt her draw deeply on his energy, feeling himself lose control and pounding into her. Almost to the point of pain, she drew on him and when he almost couldn't bear the feeling anymore she held his face in her hands, eyes glowing a soft blue.  
  
"V-Vergil....forgive me..." She whispered, a single bloody tear falling down her pale cheek as the energy backlashed in a wave of pleasure and emotional pain. Something in his mind...in his heart, pulled away the heavy veil.  
  
She pushed images into his head, felt them in his body as his climax ebbed and hers followed directly behind his. He came hard, the chorus of their half screams and moans of pleasure seemed to echo.  
  
The flashes came quickly, a love long forgotten, pain, torture, her refusal to hurt him. Then more...images that weren't his...  
  
Her loneliness...  
  
Their baby...  
  
Their son...  
  
How she had forced herself to forget in order to try and save herself, in hopes of being with him again.  
  
Vergil collapsed on top of her as she held him close. She was crying sweet bloody tears and he buried his face in her neck and spring smelling hair to keep his own tears hidden. The mix of relief, physically and mental seemed almost too much for him to handle. And yet, she'd been through so much worse...for so many, many years.  
  
Mercy...  
  
His Mercy...


	39. Abandoned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much to those who had read, commented, left kudos, bookmarked and subscribed! It's very much appreciated. 
> 
> Here's a little chapter for the Nero lovers out there.

The room was silent as the grave.  
  
A sea of shocked and surprised faces stared back at me as I explained in detail, as much as I could, about what had happened to me.  
  
To Vergil.  
  
To us.  
  
It was strange in a way, I had grown to know these people and held them all so dear to my heart. Trish and Lady with their friendship and understanding. Kyrie with her kindness and patience. Dante with his cheeky comments and humor to lighten any mood. They were all so precious to me.  
  
There was one in the room however that made me afraid. One whose thoughts and emotions were hidden by a mask of detachment, while his energy pulsed with regret, sadness and...yearning.  
  
Vergil sat beside me, my silent strength as I focused on the coffee table. I found I was unable to look at Nero. It was too painful.  
  
"I..." Swallowing, I tried to let the shock and surprised energy from the small group wash over me, but it was hard.  
  
"I wasn't able to hold my son before he was taken from me. Losing Vergil and my son, was too great. So I made myself forget, locked those memories so deep inside myself so I could survive and not become a demon. It is by grace that I've found myself with you all... That I was able to remember."  
  
Unconsciously, I squeezed Vergil's hand and he squeezed back.  
  
"Well...." Dante drawled, his feet kicked up on the coffee table and his hands behind his head. "That explains a lot." He said cheekily as he winked at his brother. Vergil clicked his tongue and I found myself smiling a little. He may have appeared to be irritated, but he was trying to hide his embarrassment.  
  
"So you don't know if your son is alive or not?" Kyrie said, her voice so full of emotion it echoed her energy in a gentle wave of sadness.  
  
I didn't know what to say. I couldn't seem to spit the words out and have them make sense. Would he even want to know his birth mother? Kyrie had told me Nero grew up in their home, treated as a member of their family. I was...a stranger.  
  
The silence grew steadily and it didn't take long before the realization began to dawn on everyone.  
  
"Whoa..." Lady said as Trish's mouth hung open.  
  
I closed my eyes, knowing what was coming. I could feel it in the air, in the vibration of energy coming off of him.  
  
"Nero..." I said softly.  
  
Nero suddenly stood and walked briskly away from all of us and out the front door. The door slammed hard and I felt the anger as he walked down the steps and to the street. Vergil wrapped his arm around my shoulder and gave me a hard hug as his energy hummed along my skin. He felt calm and sure of himself. Like all of it was going to be okay in the end.  
  
I hoped he was right.

* * *

Nero was running.  
  
It had started out as a quick walk to cool his head because he didn't want to explode in front of Kyrie. Why had everyone looked at him like that? 613, Mercy, made it sound like he...  
  
But he couldn't be...  
  
He was abandoned as a baby, left to die until Kyrie's mother found him. He had a family...a brother even. Once anyway.  
  
There was no way. It just wasn't fucking possible!  
  
Nero ran until his lungs burned and his body screamed in agony. He found himself on the outskirts of town, in an old abandoned part of crumbling homes and rat infested cars. No one lived here, not even the homeless.  
  
Leaning up against the side of an old car, Nero tried to breathe the fire out of his lungs. He needed to calm down and think. If Mercy was, in fact, his mother and Vergil was her lover...  
  
"No fucking way..." Disbelief filled his voice as he tried to process things.  
  
It would make a twisted kind of sense why he was able to wield Yamato without any issues. He thought Dante had been joking when he said only one of Sparda's blood could hold the sword and use its power. That meant if Vergil was his father...Sparda was his...grandfather?  
  
Nero growled and punched the hood of the rusted car he was leaning against. The crunching metal seemed to resonate something inside and suddenly he was punching it harder and harder.  
  
Screaming in frustration, anger, and denial, Nero ended by kicking the car and sending it flying. Something inside his head, in his center, was pulsing and demanding release. It demanded he feed his anger. To live in the darkness and drown the world in its own blood.  
  
Nero's blood seemed to turn to liquid fire in his veins as he punched another nearby car, a sudden surge of demonic power coming forth. There was another voice that echoed back to the darkness that beckoned with its power. It was warmth and light. It simply called his name. No promises. No words to push him one way or the other. Just...a quiet beckoning.  
  
"Nero..."  
  
It almost sounded like it was coming from outside of him somehow...  
  
"Nero..."  
  
A gentle hand touched his shoulder and Nero looked up to see Mercy, standing there in a simple grey shirt and jeans. She wasn't wearing her hoodie, which was strange. But it didn't really matter what she looked like or what she wore. He wanted her to get away from him.  
  
"Leave me alone." The words come out partly demonic and through clenched teeth. He could feel the darkness, pressing on him, promising him the power to end this pain...this misery. Everything felt magnified, the tiniest feeling expanding.  
  
Mercy took her hand back, her brow furrowed with deep sadness as she looked at him.  
  
"No."  
  
She may have looked sad, but her tone said differently. It said that she was in control and she wasn't. She was not his mother. She didn't fight to keep him. Didn't fight hard enough to want him. And now she just shows up and wants what? To be a family?  
  
Nero felt the rage fill him up and in the next instant, he felt his skin burn as blue and red demonic armor shifted his skin. It hurt, like being dunked in a bath of acid. He screamed his pain and his furry. He relished in it and looked at Mercy with glowing red eyes.  
  
Mercy had shifted too, her armor pearl white and almost glowing. Her wings had extended, ready and waiting for his attack. Her face was unreadable with the armor covering it.  
  
"You are NOT MY MOTHER!" He screamed as he lunged at her. His Devil Bringer reaching to grab her, but his reflexes seemed to slow as she was suddenly coming at him from his left. A long spear-like energy formed in her hand as she swung at him. The action seemed too slow and calculated and he easily dodged it.  
  
Grabbing a car with his Devil Bringer, he threw it directly at her. She didn't move in time and the car hit her directly, erupting in a loud explosion that rained down rusted car parts and fire.


	40. Family

He was right, I wasn't his mother.  
  
I didn't sing him to sleep or wipe his tears. I couldn't protect him from scary monsters or hold him close to tell him I loved him.  
  
I would never be his mother and I knew that.  
  
But I wanted to explain myself. I wanted the chance to tell him I loved him the moment I felt his energy inside my belly. I wanted to tell him that I did sing to him when he was part of me. That even now, he was still part of me. He was perfect in every way.  
  
He was my baby. My son.  
  
Nero threw another car at me, the glowing blue aura of his Devil Bringer an echo of his father's energy. Such grief, such pain he had and it was my fault that I had caused him so much misery.  
  
I took the full impact of the car and it exploded in a mass of fire and debris. If hurting me would earn his forgiveness, I'd take the pain of this world and the next. I would die to earn his forgiveness.  
  
I slowly stepped from the flames as the energy lance disappeared from my hand. I didn't want to hurt him, I wanted him to listen.  
  
Before I was able to speak his name again, his demonic form roared into the darkened night. He looked like Vergil had the first time I saw him, filled with power, anger...hatred.  
  
He was going to loose himself to the darkness if he kept drawing on that power.  
  
"Nero," I said, "Please, listen to me. I..."  
  
Another car came at me and I allowed that one to hit me too. I could take a lot of damage and years of pain allowed me to ignore the blood dripping from my mouth. I stepped forward again and Nero half screamed in frustration.  
  
The scream turned darker and the ground trembled as he drew harder on the darkness. He was calling something...I could feel it in my bones. He was calling Yamato...  
  
I barely managed to dodge the blade as it suddenly materialized in Nero's hand as he came at me in a quick rush. The sharp sound of metal hitting pavement rang through the quiet night. I pushed off the ground, letting my wings extend and push me higher. Despite his anger, I didn't think he would mean to kill me.  
  
Nero jumped towards me and swung again, I managed to dodge it for the most part. However, the harsh sting of the cursed blade cut part of my wing and it took everything I had to not scream in pain.  
  
"Nero! Stop it!" Kyrie's voice screamed from a distance. A quick glance told me that they had all managed to find their way here. Their worried emotions and fear hit me hard, even from this distance. It was hard to concentrate suddenly and Nero took the opportunity to come at me again.  
  
I flew higher, but it didn't seem to matter. Yamato's reach was greater than I expected, Nero's blue aura causing the blade to extend more and slicing into my side. The pain was deep and immediate and I fell to the ground. The hit was hard, forcing debris to be pushed back and send it flying as the pavement gave and buckled under my impact.  
  
I felt more than saw Vergil's Devil Trigger, his energy biting and angry. He was coming closer, running. Nero jumped high and aimed the sword downward where I laid.  
  
Time seemed to stop, Nero hovering over me and Vergil mid-step in his rush to get to me. It seemed like I had all the time in the world. I had an eternity to make a choice. Vergil would never forgive Nero if I died... And Nero would never accept either of us as his family...  
  
But a lifetime of pain had shown me that 'never' didn't last forever...  
  
So I made a choice...  
  
I drew on my memories. All of them. From the very first of my creation by grace to the wars to my capture to fighting Vergil and falling in love, to my choice to help him become free and then seal his memories of me. The memory of becoming pregnant, all those lonely days and nights of singing sweet songs to my belly, to my pain of him being born and taken from me. The memory of forgetting myself, of being tortured by Agnus, being found by Kyrie and finally meeting him, Vergil, Dante, Trish, Lady...  
  
I drew on the memory of my family.  
  
Time suddenly sped up and I pushed off the ground, using my wings to fly at Nero with all the speed I could. As soon as Yamato sliced into my side, I reached out and held Nero's demonic face in my hands. My precious baby boy, now a man in love. A man of strength like his father.  
  
I pushed all my memories into Nero, letting my energy lace around his dark pulsing energy.  
  
Nero screamed, agonizing and filled with pain, causing him to twist Yamato in my side viciously. My scream echoed his as the cursed drew blood from my body. Distantly I heard other screams and yells, but it seemed to fade quickly as they were drowned out by Nero's scream.  
  
His glowing red eyes shifted back and forth between red and blue. The inner battle of darkness trying to take over the light he held inside himself. I pushed my thoughts into his mind, desperately trying to hold off on the inevitable.  
  
 _It is a choice, Nero. One only you can make._  
  
The last thing I remembered was the feeling of falling.


	41. Beginning

I couldn't seem to move my body. I felt weak, exhausted...

My head hurt.

The dirt that covered the stone floor seemed familiar somehow, but I couldn't place where I'd seen it or how I had come to lay on its cool, dusty surface. The room was dark, musty and a heavily barred door loomed next to a chair on the other side of the room.

I knew that chair wasn't for me.

I managed to move my hands enough to see they were covered in dried blood and dirt. Mixed together, they seemed to make a black colored paste that cracked and fell off my fingers as I tried to sit up.

Something around my chest seemed to squeeze and I realized that I had some kind of harness on my body.

But why?

I tried to remember but nothing came to me. Though I did know this room well. I knew every inch of it like I'd been here for a while. Was it days? Years? I couldn't remember.

Time seemed to pass slowly as I drifted in and out of sleep. I found that my only comfort was the black nothingness that took me away from this dreary place. It was strange, I had no visitors. There were no sounds either. Just the darkness, which surprisingly I could see very well in.

One day the door opened. I didn't know how much time had passed, but I knew it had been a while. I stayed laying down on the cold stone floor, moving seemed to take a lot out of me.

A man, handsome and princely, stepped forward from the entryway. His long dark hair framing his beautiful face, his dark eyes clear and focused. He looked...perfect. Yet I knew he was a cruel man.

But he wasn't a man.

I watched him as he came closer and kneeled down, his face studying mine closely for its secrets. I merely watched him as his face suddenly contorted into a vicious snarl and his hand gripped my throat, cutting off my air.

I tried to struggle, but I couldn't seem to get my hands to move to try and get him to loosen his grip. They hung limply at my sides as white spots danced in my vision.

"You selfish angelic whore, you think forgetting will stop my plans? The light may be gone from your eyes, but I know it still lingers in your heart." He shook me then, my throat constricting and my lungs bursting with the need for air.

Would I die?

Would he kill me?

Death sounded...peaceful.

Shouldn't I want to live? Shouldn't I want to escape this place and go home?

Did anything matter any more?

No...

I wanted release from this hole I had in my chest, in my mind. I wanted to die.

I deserved it.

But I couldn't remember why...

The man laughed as my vision swam in harsh faded colors and finally let me go. I collapsed on the stone floor, sucking in air as fast as possible. My body shaking with effort to keep breathing.

The man continued to chuckle as he pulled a long knife out from somewhere I couldn't see. The harness on my body flared and I whimpered, unable to keep quiet as the metal seemed to burn my skin.

"And your heart is the key my Angel. When the time is right, you will return with what I desire. To ensure your obedience, I'm going to make sure you do..."

Without warning he brought the knife down and plunged it into my chest. I screamed as fresh blood blossomed and fell to the floor in a large pool. I felt the harness grow hotter, smoke seeming to rise of my skin as he laughed and cut through tissue...through bone.

When my heart was finally exposed and beating to the open air, he pulled a single piece of mental engraved with a strange marking. With a quick motion of his knife, he cut my heart and shoved the metal inside.

The pain was excruciating and agonizing. Yet, still he cut. Ignoring my open chest, he cut strange markings into my arm. I was barely conscious as I felt my chest slowly heal, as if the tissue and bone where struggling.

"Now, now... No dying yet." He mumbled as he sliced his hand, letting his blood poor onto the open cuts of my arm and then my chest. It felt like acid, burning deep and bringing another horrible scream from my mouth.

When he was finally done, both of us covered in blood and my mind started to drift in the darkness, his eyes glowed a bright red.

"Remember whose trophy you are. Remember who you belong to my Angel."

With his last words, the world swam in darkness.

* * *

The next time I opened my eyes I was strapped to a wall in a different room. It looked...strange. There were instruments and horrible noises coming from some place far off. A door opened and a large man dressed in white came in. His hair was long and dark, pulled back out of his face.

There was a pad of paper in his gloved hands with a pen, the scratching on the paper sounded loud.

"I see you are awake. Good. Let us get started shall we?" He smirked wickedly and I felt my chest ache.

"Number 613," the man said as he continued to scratch the pen to paper, "arrived from the first Hell Gate. Species: Unknown. However, I do suspect based on your a-anatomy..." He stuttered at the end, his eyes excited as he looked at me. He wore a single lens in his eye...

"That you are of the Original Species... An Angel."

The way he looked over my naked body made me recoil instinctively and he laughed, a low sound that made my stomach churn. He stepped closer, close enough that he trailed the tip of his pen along my side and over my hip.

My vision shifted and I became aware that I was long longer in control of my body as I growled and attempted to lunge at him. He skirted away from me, a flash of fear gone in a moment and replaced by a snarl.

He regained his composure, however when he spoke next he continued to stutter.

"V-viscous aren't we? I-I don't take k-kindly to threats."

I watched him through my red vision, wanting to rip him apart joint by joint. No one was allowed to touch me. No one.

He seemed to recognize the look on my face and began scratching again on his pad of paper.

"F-first test will be..." He muttered to himself as he turned and left the room.

It was the first time I met Agnus.

And the last time I remembered my name...

Mercy...


	42. Eavesdropping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty, hopefully you've enjoyed this somewhat long fic of mine. But we are coming to the end I think. The only question is how to do it.
> 
> So I'm going to leave it up to you, my faithful readers, on how this story ends.
> 
> 1) I can go for the 'Super Duper Awesome Happy Ending'.
> 
> 2) I can go for the 'Dramatic Not Quite Sure If This Is Happy or Not' ending.
> 
> OR
> 
> 3) I can go for the 'Holy Shit Batman, What the Fuck Was That?' ending.
> 
> Keep in mind that no matter which one gets the most votes, Vergil and Mercy WILL end up together in the very end.
> 
> Doesn't matter if your a member or not, I'd love to hear from you guys. So think hard, tell me why you want that ending and we'll see how it all ends.
> 
> It's up to you.
> 
> Thank you again for taking the time to read this and I really hope you enjoyed it.

"You two are fucking unbelievable..." Cursed Lady as she openly glared at Vergil and Nero. Both looking bruised, bloody and worse for wear than after a normal battle. After 61—Mercy, did whatever it was she did, Nero and she fell to the ground. It didn't take long for Vergil to attack Nero as he stood clutching his head. The fight lasted a lot longer than anyone thought it would. Both half demons almost equally matched in fighting skill...much to Dante's verbal amusement.  
  
"Yeah," said Dante as he flipped the page on his Silver & Lead weekly gun magazine. He paid no attention as a Lady shot him a wicked look before turning back to Vergil and Nero, who was at present sitting on opposite ends of the couch. Lady and Kyrie had taken Mercy upstairs to Vergil's room since he insisted; while a Lady chose to get the facts and add in an ass chewing for good measure.  
  
"You two selfish assholes need to get a grip and start talking. I got the gist of it while you two were screaming at each other. By the way, I hope you are happy about her bleeding the whole damn time with that sword stuck in her rib cage." Lady said sarcastically as she crossed her arms.  
  
Vergil sneered as Nero refused to look at anyone and gave his own version of non-caring.  
  
"Yeah," Dante said again as he flipped another page on his magazine. All three looked at him with varying degrees of annoyance. Dante grinned as he noticed them looking at him and tossed his magazine down on the desk before standing.  
  
"Aw come on Lady, they were just working out their father/son issues in the only way we know how." He said as Nero clicked his tongue, a mirror image of Vergil's behavior.  
  
"And you," Lady said as she turned to face Dante full-on, "Why the hell were you laughing?"  
  
Dante gave her a flabbergasted look, "Whaaat? I wasn't laughing... I had something in my throat."  
  
Vergil snorted as Nero rolled his eyes, both of them still silent and content to let Lady yell at Dante.  
  
"You. Were. Laughing."  
  
Dante put his hands up in surrender and smiled, "It's not my fault when you think about it. I mean Nero couldn't stop Vergil from punching him in the face with his own fist. I mean really? Who does that? And besides," he grinned as he walked over and plopped down between Vergil and Nero, "We finally got the answer to why Nero could wield Yamato. And why Mr. Freeze was acting like a bigger ass than normal to our sweet new live-in."  
  
Both Nero and Vergil growled as Dante threw his arms around the two and pulled them into a hug, with him sandwiched between, "Father and son reunited! And I've got a sister in law that can kick demon ass better than her man!"  
  
Vergil shoved Dante off of him, a scowl on his face as he attempted to hide the redness that was working up his face. Nero elbowed Dante, getting him to let go with a laugh and a wince.  
  
Lady rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Yes, I know, but what I want to know is how you two suddenly remember who she is..."  
  
Nero and Vergil glanced at each other as Dante took the liberty of kicking his feet up on the coffee table.  
  
"She forced her memories on me," Nero said quietly as he looked down at his bruised hands. "All of them."  
  
His voice was distant sounding and the room grew quiet for a moment before Vergil suddenly stood. "I'm done with this conversation."  
  
"Wha—? Hey! I'm not done yet!" Lady called after him as he walked up the stairs to the second floor. The door slammed shut behind him and Dante shook his head.  
  
"Man, he's got to go easier on the doors..."  
  
"Shut up, old man," Nero said as he stood as well and stomped off towards the kitchen. After a moment Dante and Lady were the only two left in the office and Lady sighed.  
  
"Yeah," Dante said, a playful smile on his lips, "I'm with you. Things just got a hell of a lot more complicated."

* * *

Vergil stood in the hallway outside his bedroom door, listening. Trish and Kyrie were talking to Mercy in hushed tones. Careful not to make noise, he stepped closer to hear them better. Honestly, eavesdropping was the kind of thing that children did, but he found that when it came to Mercy...  
  
Well, he just couldn't seem to act like his normal self.  
  
The knowledge that she had forced him to forget her in order to use his free will to escape and that she had given birth to their child, alone and in a filthy hole in the wall no less... That didn't sit too well.  
  
Oh, he understood her actions and faced with the decision himself, he couldn't say that he wouldn't have done the same. However, she was his...only his. Just like Nero was his son...his...only...son.  
  
The weight of that was heavy. They had all spent the last few years after Nero came to live with them on how he was related. A bastard son of their father's? An experiment gone wrong? One of Dante's poor decisions? Finally, they had just come to accept that he was related by blood...  
  
Part of their...  
  
Family...  
  
Surprisingly, now that he knew, Vergil could see himself in the boy. In his sneer and yet, Dante's punk mouth had managed to find itself in there too. But the curve of his jaw, his boyish features, those sharp eyes... Those where his mother's. Mercy was as much of a part of him as Vergil was.  
  
He honestly hadn't meant to hurt the boy so much when they fought, but a kind of frenzy took over once he heard Mercy scream. The look on her face, though covered in angelic armor, was hurt...sad.  
  
He was tired of being unable to save her from misery. So many years lost to pain and torture, he wanted those days gone. So that they could live and be...happy.  
  
"...I'm fine, really." Mercy said, he almost would have believed her words to Trish and Kyrie had it not been for the slight waver in her tone at the end. She wasn't fine. She was far from it.  
  
"We just...we were so worried." Kyrie's soft voice drifted through the door. How Nero managed to find such a kind and patient woman was surprised. But then again, maybe not.  
  
"Yeah, who would have thought that you know... You were meant to be here." Trish said Vergil heard the soft squeak of his bed as someone shifted around. Probably Mercy.  
  
"Yes." Mercy said, her voice soft and tired sounding. "I am so thankful to all of you. I...I really am."  
  
Trish chuckled, "Well they don't call it 'Thanksgiving' for nothing. Don't worry about the food, Kyrie managed to finish baking everything while you out. I seriously can't believe that you and Vergil..." She trailed off and giggled as Mercy made a soft embarrassed sound.  
  
Vergil couldn't stop the possessive smirk that tugged at his mouth. Oh yes, and he would be sure that she and him had more time alone... Just as soon as the two women left his bedroom, he'd inspect her body fully.  
  
"Well, if Vergil is anything like Nero..." Kyrie said, her voice suddenly shy and then panicked, "I'm sorry! I keep forgetting you're his mother. You two look so close in age."  
  
"Time moves differently in Hell." Mercy laughed softly, "And while I did give birth to him, I am not his mother. He had a family, your family. And I'm in your debt for taking him in and caring for him..."  
  
Vergil felt his smirk fade slowly. Time did move differently in Hell. In the blink of an eye, it could be thousands of years later or a mere five minutes. It always changed, never staying the same.  
  
The sound of movement had Vergil shift away from the door as footsteps began to approach.  
  
"Let's go downstairs and check on you're battered and bruised man. He probably is sulking in the kitchen after Lady's ass-chewing." Trish said as she opened the door, Kyrie a step behind her.  
  
Neither seemed to notice him standing on the opposite side of the door, but he didn't believe that for a second. Trish could feel him for a mile away, which proved correct when she glanced at him with a sly smirk before guiding the other woman towards the stairs. Once the hallway door was shut, he took a small breath to try and steady himself.  
  
"Vergil...?"  
  
Mercy's voice was soft and it called to something deep inside his soul. He knew the feeling well.  
  
It was love.


	43. Union (The Super Duper Awesome Happy Ending)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! You guys have spoken! ^_^
> 
> Thank you for your comments! Really, I appreciated all of them and since the reasons were all excellent as to which ending...
> 
> I've decided to do all three. 
> 
> You can read them all, or pick which one you would like to end on.
> 
> If you enjoyed this, please check out my other works. I'm always looking to Improve and the more people give input, the more it helps me.
> 
> Again, thank you!

"Vergil...?" I called again. I could feel his energy just outside the door when Trish and Kyrie had talked to me. I had no doubt that he heard every word of the conversation or at least part of it. Trish's implication of Vergil's attention in the bedroom had made my face turn a little red, and Kyrie had matched mine when talking of Nero.  
  
It was embarrassing but at the same time felt...good.  
  
I had all of my memories back, as did Vergil. Nero knew his beginning now too. Time would only tell how Nero would handle it, but according to Kyrie, he'd been...accepting. Which was all I wanted?  
  
The truth was harsh but necessary.  
  
I now had a family. I had Vergil...  
  
There was only one thing left to do and it wasn't going to be pleasant.  
  
Vergil entered the room, his face and arms covered in fading bruises and cuts. I frowned as he approached and sat on the edge of the bed. His eyes were still cool, but there was warmth there now. Despite his beaten appearance he looked content.  
  
He smirked at me, a soft tug of the mouth as he leaned forward to kiss my forehead. "You get a small crease in your forehead when you frown, did you know that?"  
  
I blinked, the combination of my memories of who I was and who I was now comparing my two versions of Vergil. He was...  
  
"You're being sweet," I whispered, unable to stop my eyes from closing against his soft lips.  
  
"If you tell anyone..." He chuckled lowly and kissed my cheek, his voice slightly deeper. It made my chest ache and something low tighten in my belly, "I'll have to punish you."  
  
I looked at him then, smirking back at him, "Oh?"  
  
He kissed me, slowly at first and then deeper. My wings fluttered as he moved closer and let his warm hand slowly slide up my shirt. A new one Trish had brought me from my room that wasn't covered in blood and full of holes. The skin still felt a little raw from Yamato being embedded in it and I winced.  
  
Pulling away, Vergil looked at me with an apology on his face. It was so endearing and kind I found myself laughing.  
  
"It's okay, I'm okay," I said reassuringly. He gave me a steady look that said he knew better and I nodded instead.  
  
"Yes, I know," I said as I took his hand. The bruises were fading and I ran my thumb across them.  
  
"I didn't say anything."  
  
I simply smiled and brought his large hand up to rest my cheek against it. His eyes were so clear, his pupils dilated slightly as our skin touched and I chuckled softly.  
  
"Your eyes dilate when you touch me. Did you know that? It was one of the things I noticed when we... It's how I knew you had emotions towards me." I said softly, not wanting to bring up the past, but wanting to return his kindness.  
  
His face became unreadable as we gazed at each other. His energy was steady, calm even. There was just the small tingle of affection drifting around him. He really was trying to keep it all bottled up.  
  
"Most people..." He speaking softly, "Say 'feelings' instead of 'emotions'."  
  
I nodded, "You hate 'feelings', their too flighty. But emotions..."  
  
"Can move the world..."  
  
Vergil shifted his hand and caressed my cheek. When Mundus first left Vergil in my cell, he wouldn't look at me or touch me unless Mundus commanded it. Yet every single time we fought and I was commanded to drain his energy, his eyes would dilate. At first, I thought it was fear, but it wasn't. The more we fought and the more contact we had, I slowly realized it was because he felt something. The very first time I was able to break Mundus's hold on his will, I had said he had feelings. He had coldly corrected me in the few moments he was himself that he hated 'feelings'. They were for the weak, the easily moved...  
  
It was so unusual to me that I had thought about what he said for a long time before speaking to him again about it. That's when I said I agreed with him and that instead, I felt emotions. Because those could move the world...  
  
Like how he had slowly moved mine...  
  
He was not going to like what I was going to ask him, but I needed his help if we were going to live freely. Because I was still a prisoner...a trophy.  
  
"Vergil," I said, taking his hand and kissing his knuckles, "I need you to cut my heart open..."  
  
Vergil wasn't sure which part he was more furious over; the fact that he had to cut into the heart of the very woman he loved or the fact that Dante was standing by as 'bait'.  
  
"Sooo, I just stand here?" Dante asked as everyone else watched from the far side of the office on the couch. It was determined, mostly by Lady and Dante, that if there was going to be more blood staining the floor it should be somewhere easier to repair. Which was irritating as Vergil felt that they were more concerned about the damn building than Mercy.  
  
"Yes. If my heart stops you'll need to Devil Trigger. It will help to have such a negative energy present to latch onto." Mercy said matter of factly.  
  
Vergil huffed, Yamato sheathed and in his hand. Mercy had explained how Mundus hand placed a small piece of the same metal his sword was made out of in order to take control of her any time he wanted. The simple fact that he hadn't yet, only meant that he wasn't aware of her being so close to the sword. In order to make sure he didn't know, the metal he had placed in her heart would need to be removed.  
  
Unfortunately, he had to use Yamato in order to keep her healing ability at bay long enough to get it out. Which meant she could die. He had tried to reason with her that there must be another way. But in the end, practicality won and his 'emotions' would have to be shoved down deep in order to get through this.  
  
It didn't mean he had to be happy about it.  
  
"Are you sure there isn't anything we can do?" Trish spoke up. She had decided to take up sitting on the armrest of the couch while Lady, Nero, and Kyrie sat normally.  
  
"No, I'm afraid not. Vergil has the best speed and Dante is the best choice to keep my energy present, as I won't risk Nero. Dante was also willing to 'take one for the team'." She said with a faint smile as Dante gave her a small wink.  
  
Vergil managed to keep his growl from being too audible, but Mercy still gave him a look of 'it will be okay'.  
  
Mercy slowly unbuttoned the shirt she was wearing and Vergil was glad his brother and son averted their eyes. She folded the shirt neatly and then laid down on her back, her wings extended out so she could lay flat. Vergil kneeled next to her as he drew his sword. With her chest out in the open, it was easy to see that the other areas were Yamato had cut her had healed over with a very faint scar.  
  
After looking over her, Vergil looked once more into her clear blue eyes. There was a slight glow to them as she nodded.  
  
Vergil shoved all the emotion that weld up down as far as he could, which took a moment because the anger rising up was heavy with revenge. He would kill Mundus one day...  
  
As payback for this very moment...  
  
A second later, Vergil plunged Yamato into Mercy's chest as she screamed.

* * *

"You look beautiful Mercy." Said Kyrie as she finished tying purple ribbons into my hair. I smiled nervously. Trish and Lady were already out front and waiting, while Kyrie helped me with my dress.  
  
I still did not like dresses.  
  
But I did like the deep purple color of this one's soft flowing fabric and how it hung off my shoulders. It was low cut down my back so there was no need to modify it for my wings, a blessing I was thankful for.  
  
"Thank you, Kyrie."  
  
She smiled warmly at me before giving me a tight hug. The suddenness of it mixed with her joyous and flighty emotions made my body tremble. I wasn't sure who was more nervous, her or myself.  
  
The owner of the church I had restored had allowed us the use of it in order to perform the ceremony. The owner, a sweet older lady who purchased it years ago when it had started to fall apart, had said that it was fitting that an Angel be married there.  
  
The building hummed with happy energy and the small group of people on the main room, mostly people who had hired Devil May Cry; also seemed excited and happy. There was one energy I recognized and the moment I did, I smiled.  
  
Vergil may have been a cold person, but he was an honorable man and a stickler for pretense. When Dante had referred to me as 'sister in law', Vergil decided to make it true.  
  
Surprisingly, Nero had stated that it was the 'right thing' to do. Though, I wasn't sure why. The two of them had become closer since Vergil removed the small metal disk Mundus had shoved into my heart. When my heart stopped beating because Vergil couldn't find it, Nero had come to his aid and found it embedded into part of my tissues. With Dante Devil triggering, I was able to latch onto his demonic energy with my own. It was enough of a pull to restart my heart. 'Metaphysics' knew no bounds as Trish said.  
  
Kyrie finally released me, tears in her eyes as she moved to stand behind me and help me with the 'train' of my dress as I walked. Beautiful music, a soft melody, played from somewhere and slowly I stepped out from the alcove entrance and began to walk towards the altar.  
  
Vergil stood at the very front, Dante next to him as his 'best man' and Nero next to him. All three were dressed in beautiful suits of black and silver that Lady had tailored for them. I found it amusing that the three of them wore their swords for the occasion.  
  
Lady and Trish stood opposite of them, dressed in their own versions of dresses. Trish's was form fitting of course and Lady's was a short skirt with a white collared shirt and a woman's blazer. Both of them were dressed in a lighter version of the purple I was wearing. Kyrie was the only other one, other than me, that wore a traditional dress.  
  
The moment Vergil saw me, his eyes dilated and I smiled. He may have been trying to hide his emotions before, but now as I walked towards him, a bouquet of white roses in my hands; his emotions were all over the place.  
  
Nervous, excited, lustful, sweet, and loving...  
  
And yet, his face looked the same cold detached it always did.  
  
As I reached him, he took my hand. It was warm and solid and as we faced the old woman who owned the church, he squeezed my hand ever so slightly.  
  
"We are gathered here today to bear witness to these two souls, brought together by fate, in sacred unity." The old woman's voice was strong as she spoke, addressing the people of the room. She held a single silver corded rope on her hands.  
  
"Vergil, Son of Sparda and Eva, do you swear to hold this woman in your heart for all eternity—from this life and into the next?"  
  
"Yes," Vergil said, his voice steady and sure. The old woman wrapped a small corded rope around his hand.  
  
"Mercy, Daughter of The Original Grace, do you swear to hold this man in your heart for all eternity—from this life and into the next?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
The old woman tied the corded rope around my hand and then in a series of intricate loops, tied it around both of our joined hands.  
  
"Then by the witnesses here and the sacred rite of divinity, you are forever two souls entwined. You may kiss the bride as a symbol of your devotion."  
  
Vergil and I turned towards each other, and the moment our eyes locked I saw his face show the full love that he had been trying to hide. The look seemed to pull something deep inside my soul and I stood on my toes to lace my arms around him.  
  
Pressing out lips together, the church sounded suddenly loud with laughter, shouts, and clapping. Vergil was only startled for a moment by my sudden act. Slipping his arms around my waist, he kissed me deeper.  
  
We would be together forever...  
  
Free to live...  
  
Forever...  
  
I liked the sound of that.


	44. Time (The Dramatic 'Not Quite Sure If This Is Happy or Not' Ending)

Vergil entered the room to see Mercy sitting in the middle of his bed. She was wearing one of his button up shirts, which made her small curvy frame look even smaller. His shirt wasn't adjusted for her wings, so they remained covered with the shirt and it hung on her oddly because of it. It was rather...cute. He shut the door behind him gently as he walked to her.

Sitting on the bed, he watched her as she studied his face. The bruises had faded for the most part, the fight with Nero hadn't been to kill him... At least he hadn't thought to kill him, just hurt him enough to get him to stop. He wasn't too surprised that Mercy had found her own solution by forcing her memories on him. Who knew how the boy would act now.

Only time would tell.

Mercy reached up and caressed his face with her delicate hand. Her silver, white hair falling in soft waves around her face. If he ever told her how beautiful she was or how much he loved her...

He just couldn't seem to get the words out. Mercy gave him a warm smile like she knew, and he had no doubt that she did. But he frowned as her smile slowly became sad.

"Vergil, I..." She began and he knew, he didn't want to hear it, whatever it was could wait. Right now, he just wanted to wrap her up in his arms and kiss her sadness away. He wanted to make love to her, truly make love to her, the way he wanted too. He wanted to drown himself in her spring like scent and soft skin. Bask in her warmth and love as her soft feathers managed to caress his hard muscled skin.

He kissed her deeply, unable to stop himself as he leaned her back against his pillows. Her sweet scent drifted up, mixed with his from his sheets. Though he tried to be gentle, he found his arms shaking as he tried desperate to keep his composure. Now that he remembered... She seemed to take up the missing piece in his chest, a vial piece.

Vergil let his hand caress her soft skin under his shirt, her soft moan drawing a growl from him as the need was becoming harder to ignore. She ran her slender fingers through his hair and down his neck, the touch light and yet almost demanding. He pulled back just enough to slip his shirt off, her fingers slipping down his chest to his pants and unsnapping the button.

She leaned up to kiss his bare chest and he savored the feel of her lips on his skin. Where she touched felt hot and when he realized she was wearing his shirt and only his shirt, he felt the strain in his pants. It was almost a blessing he had decided to for go his boxers. Something he didn't understand why Dante did, but now made so much sense it almost made him chuckle.

He probably would have too if she hadn't slipped his pants down his hips and gripped his erection. His sudden harsh breath inward had her give him a few quick pumps, teasing the tip of him. He laced his hands in her long locks and brought her lips to his, kissing her deeply and making her moan.

He couldn't wait anymore...

She seemed to feel desire and leaned back, letting him rip his shirt and popping of a few buttons to suckle on one of her exposed supple breasts. Her back arched and the faint flutter of her wings shifted the air as he teased her taught nipple and guided himself to her already wet folds. The moment he felt her widen her legs, he pushed himself deep and slowly inside her. His deep thrust brought a loud moan from her sweet mouth and he growled into her neck as he buried his face into it.

Mercy wrapped her legs around him as he began to thrust deep and slowly into her, the pace was agonizing in sweet and almost painful way. It wasn't long before her breath in his ear and her voice slightly muffled in his shoulder had him thrusting harder. He could feel his own deep ache growing and somehow he could tell she was close too.

She brought his face up out of her neck and kissed him deeply, her hands on either side of his face to hold him there. God he loved her...

And that's when he felt the all too familiar numbness start to slip around his body. It laced its way to his core and up to his mind. Soothing and gentle, but with purpose. He felt his body continue to thrust into her wet folds, though he wanted to stop. Wanted her to stop what she was about to do.

_I love you Vergil._

She whispered to his mind. He was no longer in control of his body and as he thrusted one last time, spilling himself into her, he saw a bloody tear fall down her cheek.

_Please forgive me..._

* * *

I stood before the secret Hell Gate located far below the earth's surface not more than a few thousand miles from Limbo City. It had been so many, many years since I had last laid my eyes upon it that it surprised me that I still remembered the intricate lock that was created to seal it.

This was the original Hell Gate. The very first created when those who once called themselves 'Angels' fell from grace.

I wouldn't be surprised if I was the only one who remembered its location.

Yamato was sheathed and tied around my waist as I looked at the massive structure. It looked for boding and reeked of demonic energy. Not surprsingly.

I had locked everyone's memories of me, putting them into a deep sleep in the process so when they woke they could continue on living. They were not safe with me present amount them as I knew without a doubt that Mundus was biding his time to take me over by force. A possession, practically unheard of for my kind...but no impossible.

I had removed any hint of my presence among them, which was harder as I moved from each of them. Their memories had to be relived as I locked them away. I was almost unable to continue after Vergil and I made love for possibly the last time.

After all...

Time moved differently in Hell.

Perhaps I would be killed. Perhaps I'd destroy Mundus and escape to meet my great, great grand children. Perhaps I'd be captured again and my plan to defeat Mundus would backfire and grant him what he wanted.

I made sure before I left Devil May Cry to fix the pool table and the juke box, as I had promised myself I would. The only other thing that was different was the cursed blade at my side.

I hoped if I did survive, Vergil would forgive me...

Drawing the sword, I stepped forward, his face clear in my mind. No matter what happened to me, I would never forget again. I would remember my son, Dante, Trish, Lady, Kryie...Vergil.

Gripping the sword in my hands, I summoned the light inside myself and felt the blade respond. Sparda did well when he made this blade, it vibrated with my energy. It knew me, recognized me somehow and when I brought the blade down in a quick the metal sang as it resonated against the gate.

The walls of the cave rumbled and a small opening slowly formed, just big enough for me to slip through.

It was time...

* * *

"Again, I'm telling you it seems weird that that old thing is working again." Nero said as Dante pushed a series of buttons on the front of the juke box. They were currently attempting to choose a song for his wedding to Kyrie, due to happen in another few months. The two love birds had become engaged after asking for Vergil's blessing. It had surprised everyone that the man had said yes, Dante had lost a twenty to Lady over it.

"What are you taking about? I always take care of my stuff. Don't I baby?" Dante purred to the juke box as a heavy metal song came on.

Nero smirked and shook his head, "She won't marry me if you have her walk down the aisle to that."

"Come on, this song kicks ass."

Nero shook his head as Vergil emerged from the upstairs, dressed in his usual blue coat. Nero looked at his father pleadingly as he motioned to Dante, who was doing air guitar on his knees.

Vergil smirked and patted his son on his shoulder, "Now you know why I tried to kill him for so long."

Nero snorted as a loud knock sounded on the door. Dante immediately stood and turned off the juke box as Vergil held up his hand to stop him. "By all means, continue. I was just leaving anyway."

Dante grinned as Nero groaned, "Damnit..." He said with feeling as the music started back up. Vergil turned, effectively hiding the smile tugging at his mouth. He was glad that Nero was happy, glad that h had accepted him as his father. Even if he hadn't raised him.

Small blessings.

The knock sounded again just as Vergil reached the door. Opening it, he paused as a woman in a neon green hoodie stood on the shop front steps. Her hood was up and pulled lowly down to effectively hide the top part of her face. From what he could see of her face, it was dirty with bits of dried blood on her chin.

She seemed...familiar somehow.

"Hello." He said.

The woman didn't move at first, the only movement being her chest rising and falling with her breath giving him a clue that she was in fact, alive. There was a long samurai type sword in her hand with a blue hilt that looked extremely worn.

A prickle edged along his skin, making Vergil take a sharp breath as she slowly brought her head up to look at him. One bright blue eye peeked out between bits of silvery white hair. The other covered with a bloody scrap of cloth. The blue of the one eye was so striking that he found himself staring at her, something deep inside him was pulling at him to step closer to her. Yet, he found he couldn't move.

"Vergil..." Her voice was soft as she stepped forward, almost touching him. The loud music in the office seemed to fade as he gripped the door handle harder, turning his knuckles white. She smelled of brimstone. But that wasn't right, she never smelled of anything other than spring...

For some reason his heart started to pound as she reached out a delicate hand and touched his face. Her fingertips caressing his jaw ever so gently.

He didn't know how...

Or why...

Or even when...

But he knew her...

".......Mercy.....?"


	45. Choice (The Holy Shit Batman, What The Fuck Was That? Ending)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, the final ending for you guys! 
> 
> Thanks again for hanging in there with me. I'm off to dabble in another world with other characters. If you liked this, feel free to check out my other works. 
> 
> And hey, if you hated it, tell me so I can use it to improve!
> 
> I may or may not come back to this and do a fic for Dante. I'll have to rack my brain and see how it goes though. It will really depend if enough people would like that or not I think. 
> 
> Thank you all again so much for your kind words and support. You guys are great!

I found myself before three tall figures. I wasn't able to see them clearly, but they appeared to be tall beings made of light. They radiated warmth and calmness, but I found that despite that, I felt nervous.  
  
"Mercy..." They said together. Their voices soft yet held a firmness that made my body tremble.  
  
"We have seen the glimpse of your future."  
  
I found that I could not speak. This place of light and purity seemed familiar somehow. But I knew it was the first time I had ever been there.  
  
"We have shown you this glimpse to allow you a choice." Said one figure.  
  
"A choice..." Said another, very softly.  
  
"We do not grant this choice to many." Said the third.  
  
I frowned, confused. A choice? A choice of what?  
  
"You, who we have created to purify the negativity of those we call 'demons'; will suffer so greatly that you will fall in love with a halfling." They said together.  
  
I watched as the figured surrounded me. I seemed so small... Why was I small?  
  
I reached to hold my hands and found that I had none. I had...no body.  
  
"You are the very first we have created with a soul." Said the quieter one of the two.  
  
"We do not know how, or why... But you have been created with free will. For this reason, we will allow you to choose..." The figures shifted as they spoke, circling me.  
  
"Choose what?" I managed to say, my voice so soft I barely heard it in my own ears. That is if I had any.  
  
"Choose to become an angel and live the life you have glimpsed..." Said one.  
  
"Or choose a different path..." Said the other.  
  
"I don't understand. A different path?" My words came again, this time stronger. What did they mean? Did they mean I wouldn't meet Vergil? That I would never fall in love with him? That he would never love me?  
  
I...  
  
I couldn't live a life without him...  
  
The figures seemed to still, stopping all movement. It felt like an eternity before they were suddenly in front of me again.  
  
"The choice has been made." They said together.

* * *

"Mercy..."  
  
"Mercy...!"  
  
Someone was calling me.  
  
"Mercy, wake up right now or you're going to be late!"  
  
Rolling over, I groaned as I managed to open my eyes. It took me a moment for my eyes to adjust, even in the dim light filtering through the curtains. Moving boxes lined the walls, my desk haphazardly pushed under the window. I barely remembered going to bed the night before, after moving the last box into my new room.  
  
"Mercy! Listen to your mother!" My stepfather called from the bottom of the stairs.  
  
"Alright!" I yelled back. God, didn't anyone understand that lack of sleep was torture?  
  
Slowly, I sat up and rubbed my tired eyes. The dream I had, had seemed so real and so...  
  
I felt the heat slowly rise to my cheeks. I could almost feel the lingering touch of the man I had dreamed about on my skin.  
  
Trying to shake off the feeling, I got up and shuffled to my bathroom. My long red hair was crazy with bed head and I sighed. This was not how I wanted to start my senior year at a new school, in a new town.  
  
"Yo!" Said, my step-brother, as he barged into my room without knocking.  
  
"Nero! Damnit can't you knock like a normal person!" I yelled, throwing a hair clip at him. He snickered and dodged it easily.  
  
"Come on Mercy, knocking is for people who care about other privacy."  
  
"You know, if you ever get a girlfriend, I'm going to torment you by showing her pictures of you naked as a baby."  
  
He sneered as he leaned up against the door jam of my bathroom, his black hair falling into his blue eyes. "Yeah? You do and I'll post your third grade Halloween picture on Facebook."  
  
Growling, I smacked him against his head or tried too. Which made him laugh as he ducked out of my room. I took the liberty of shutting and locking my door. What an ass...  
  
But he was a good guy at heart, that was the scary part.  
  
The rest of the morning consisted of a quick breakfast while my mother and stepfather fretted over me. Honestly, I might have been senior and Nero might have been younger, but they acted like it was reversed.  
  
After a quick breakfast and a making sure I wore my angel wing earnings for luck, I dashed out the door after Nero. Our new house was surprisingly close to the school so we were able to make it there by taking a quick walk.  
  
The first day of school always seemed like some kind of madhouse with people running around trying to get to the right place. Honestly, I kind of let it flow by me, not one to draw attention to myself...  
  
Unlike Nero who was an instant hit with the other girls in the entire school before lunch. It happened every time we ended up having to move due to my step dad's work. I faded to the background while he became the most popular kid in school.  
  
However, this time seemed different, as there was one thing that seemed to be earning just as much attention from the opposite sex as him.  
  
Well...two actually.  
  
Nero and I had History class together by pure dumb luck. He sat in the back, his headphones cranked up and playing at being cool. While I sat in the middle row between two twin boys.  
  
At first glance, I thought they looked exactly the same, however that idea was quickly squashed as one flirted with the girl behind him and the other ignored everyone. They both had black hair like Nero's, almost the same deep blue color of his eyes too.  
  
Honestly, the one who was flirting with the girl, Dante, seemed flighty to me. While the other seemed cold and distant as he read a thick book in what I assumed was Latin on the cover. I found myself sighing as I pulled out the music score I'd been working on over the summer. I'd been trying to finish learning it for a college interview I had planned for the spring.  
  
"Hey there Angel." Someone said and I blinked looking over to the one called Dante as he winked at me.  
  
I rolled my eyes, that wasn't my name.  
  
Choosing to ignore him, I looked back to the music sheets in front of me. The vocals for the piece weren't complicated, but they were a lot of notes that required a bigger range than I had.  
  
"Come on Angel, talk to me," Dante said again as I huffed. Surprisingly, as I opened my mouth, someone else spoke first.  
  
"Leave her alone Dante." Said the boy's twin on my other side. Dante looked heartbroken as he leaned forward, closer to me to see his brother giving him a cold look.  
  
"Aw, come on bro. She's cute."  
  
"Perhaps, but that doesn't give you free rein to give her a pet name." His voice was just as cold as his face. It was also slightly deeper and I found myself staring at him. He seemed to notice and shifted his gaze from his brother to me. I felt self-conscious and looked away from his dilated eyes and proceeded to bury my nose in my music again.  
  
Dante laughed, loud and full-bodied as he looked between the two of us. "Alright, bro. You win."  
  
Dante turned back to the girl sitting behind him, completely unfazed by his brother's harshness. I felt relieved for a moment until I realized the other one was still watching me. Glancing at him, I swallowed.  
  
"T-thank you." I managed to say. Oh man, I sounded like an idiot, honestly, I didn't know what to say. Other than Nero, no one ever stood up for me or even noticed me.  
  
"If you don't like something, learn to speak up." His voice seemed colder and I blinked at him in surprise. What the hell?  
  
I frowned and opened my mouth to say something, but he spoke before I could get the words out.  
  
"You get a wrinkle in your forehead when you frown. Did you know that?"  
  
I stared at him with my mouth hanging open as a small smile tugged on the corner of his mouth. He was...  
  
"You're teasing me," I said, huffing a little.  
  
When he didn't say anything, I huffed again and turned my attention back to my music sheets. In my haste, one slipped out and fluttered to the ground and ended up stuck under his shoe. I actually debated if I needed the page or not.  
  
Irritated and feeling flustered, I turned to reach for it. Before I could pick it up though, the boy grabbed it and looked it over.  
  
"Mercy?" He said a snicker on the end of his voice. I could have died for writing my name on the top right-hand corner of the page.  
  
"Yes," I said, "That's me, now give it back." I sounded irritated, which was unusual for me. I sighed as I tried to regain my composure.  
  
"Please," I said, sounding much more like my normal self.  
  
"Vergil." He said, holding my paper in his hand.  
  
"What?"  
  
"That's my name, Vergil. Say, 'please Vergil'." The smile on his face grew a little as I snorted.  
  
"Please Vergil."  
  
He extended his hand and I took the paper, my fingertips touching his briefly. I felt his eyes on me grow sharper and we ended up staring at each other.  
  
There was a moment...  
  
This weird moment...  
  
Where I thought I knew him from somewhere. From another time or another place.  
  
"Thanks," I said quietly, trying to hold onto the feeling.  
  
He smirked, a rather sexy look with his combed-back hair and bright eyes. I felt my face start to reddened and cursed my crappy inexperience with social interactions. God, you'd think I had a crush on him or something...  
  
Just as that thought occurred to me, he chuckled lowly.  
  
"You're welcome...Mercy."  
  
The way he said my name then, it seemed to hold such promise and I found my heart beat quicken.  
  
Suddenly, I remembered the man's name from my dream.  
  
It was Vergil...  
Actions


End file.
